Production of biosurfactant by a genetically-modified strain ofBacillus subtilis expressing green fluorescent protein

Recent progress in microbial biosurfactants production strategies: Applications, technological bottlenecks, and future outlook

Biosurfactants are surface-active compounds produced by numerous microorganisms. They have gained significant attention due to their wide applications in food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, agriculture, and environmental remediation. The production efficiency and yield of microbial biosurfactants have improved significantly through the development and optimization of different process parameters. This review aims to provide an in-depth analysis of recent trends and developments in microbial biosurfactant production strategies, including submerged, solid-state, and co-culture fermentation. Additionally, review discusses biosurfactants' applications, challenges, and future perspectives. It highlights their advantages over chemical surfactants, emphasizing their biodegradability, low toxicity, and diverse chemical structures. However, the critical challenges in commercializing include high production costs and low yield. Strategies like genetic engineering, process optimization, and downstream processing, have been employed to address these challenges. The review provides insights into current commercial producers and highlights future perspectives such as novel bioprocesses, efficient microbial strains, and exploring their applications in emerging industries.

Stability and emulsifying capacity of biosurfactants obtained from lignocellulosic sources using Lactobacillus pentosus

Lactobacillus pentosus grown on sugars from agricultural residues produces biosurfactants with emulsifying properties that could facilitate the bioremediation of hydrocarbon contaminated sites. The biosurfactans obtained after growing L. pentosus cells on distilled grape marc hydrolyzates gave values of relative emulsion volume (EV) close to 50%, being stable after 72 h when gasoline or kerosene were employed. These EV values were higher than those achieved using commercial surfactin (14.1% for gasoline and 27.2% for kerosene). Moreover, assays carried out with kerosene showed that L. pentosus produced biosurfactants from distilled grape marc hydrolyzates with the highest stabilizing capacity value (ES) to maintain the emulsion (99%) followed by biosurfactants produced from hazelnut shell hydrolyzates (97%). These data are comparable with those obtained using sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS (87.7%), whereas surfactin only gave an ES value of 65.4%. Consequently, this work shows that utilization of low-cost feedstock agricultural residues as substrates for producing biosurfactants/bioemulsifiers is possible thus removing obstacles for the wide-scale industrial application of biosurfactants/bioemulsifiers.