Microbial biosurfactants: surface active agents

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Surfactants, surface active compounds, are one of the most common used agents in daily life. While synthetic surfactants which are able to increase the contaminant solubility are often toxic, representing an additional source of contamination, biosurfactants offer advantages rather than synthetic surfactants due to their derivation from renewable resources, low or non-toxicity, biodegradability. Biosurfactants that has excellent surface activity are reusable and able to maintain their effectiveness under extreme temperature and pH conditions. They have the unique property of reducing the surface and interfacial tension of liquids. The major functions of biosurfactants includes solubilization, emulsification, dispersion, wetting, foaming, and detergent capacity, as well as antimicrobial and antifungal activity against a number of pathogenic organisms. In this review we have discussed the literature about different microbial surfactants and their industrial and biomedical applications.

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Biosurfactant , antibacterial , antifungal , industrial applications , biomedical applications

Erciyes University Journal Of The Institute Of Science an‎d Technology

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Erciyes University Journal Of The Institute Of Science an‎d Technology