Production of Sophorolipids fromCandida bombicola ATCC 22214 Using Turkish Corn Oil and Honey

Microbial production and application of sophorolipids

Sophorolipids are surface-active compounds synthesized by a selected number of yeast species. They have been known for over 40 years, but because of growing environmental awareness, they recently regained attention as biosurfactants due to their biodegradability, low ecotoxicity, and production based on renewable resources. In this paper, an overview is given of the producing yeast strains and various aspects of fermentative sophorolipid production. Also, the biochemical pathways and regulatory mechanisms involved in sophorolipid biosynthesis are outlined. To conclude, a summary is given on possible applications of sophorolipids, either as native or modified molecules.

Towards commercial production of microbial surfactants

Biosurfactants or microbial surfactants are surface-active biomolecules that are produced by a variety of microorganisms. Biosurfactants have gained importance in the fields of enhanced oil recovery, environmental bioremediation, food processing and pharmaceuticals owing to their unique properties--higher biodegradability, lower toxicity, and effectiveness at extremes of temperature, pH and salinity. However, large-scale production of these molecules has not been realized because of low yields in production processes and high recovery and purification costs. This article describes some practical approaches that have been adopted to make the biosurfactant production process economically attractive: these include the use of cheaper raw materials, optimized and efficient bioprocesses and overproducing mutant and recombinant strains for obtaining maximum productivity. The application of these strategies in biosurfactant production processes, particularly those using hyper-producing recombinant strains in the optimally controlled environment of a bioreactor, might lead towards the successful commercial production of these valuable and versatile biomolecules in near future.