Special Issue "Biosurfactants"
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A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Green Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2010)
Special Issue Editors
Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Yoshie Maitani
Institute of Medicinal Chemistry, Fine Drug Targeting Research Laboratory, Hoshi University, Ebara 2-4-41, Shinagawa, Tokyo 142-8501, Japan
E-Mail: yoshie@hoshi.ac.jp
Guest Editor
Dr. Laurence G. Rahme
Harvard Medical School, 340 Thier Research Building, 50 Blossom Street, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
Website: http://genetics.mgh.harvard.edu/RahmeWeb/
E-Mail: rahme@molbio.mgh.harvard.edu
Phone: +1 617 724 5003
Fax: +1 617 724 8558
Interests: bacterial pathogenesis; multi-host pathogenesis; host-pathogen interactions; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Acinetobacter; Quorum sensing; small excreted molecules; virulence factors; anti-infectives, anti-virulence drugs; Antibiotic tolerance; models of infections; Drosophila; intestinal infections; burn injury; wound infections; muscle response to infection; bacterial transcriptional regulation
Editorial Advisor
Prof. Dr. Jan Michiels
Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, K.U.Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20 box 2460, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium
Website: http://www.biw.kuleuven.be/dtp/cmpg/spi
E-Mail: jan.michiels@biw.kuleuven.be
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Biosurfactants are surface-active substances synthesized by living cells. Biosurfactants constitute a variety of microbial extracellular lipids that are produced in large amounts from inexpensive natural sources.
Biosurfactants have been receiving increasing attention due to their unique properties: low toxicity, biodegradability, and biological activities, compared to chemically synthesized counterparts from an earth environmental point of view.
Biosurfactants enhance the solubilization and emulsification of hydrophobic substances and increase their availability for microbial degradation. These compounds can also be used in enhanced oil recovery and may be considered for other potential applications in environmental protection. Other applications include herbicides formulations, detergents, health care and cosmetics.
Prof. Dr. Yoshie Maitani
Guest Editor
Related Special Issues in other Journals
Oil Recovery in Energies
Submission
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Keywords
- surfactant
- production
- drug delivery system
- cosmetic
- novel characterization
- environment
Published Papers (10 papers)
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Received: 14 October 2010; in revised form: 30 October 2010 / Accepted: 1 November 2010 / Published: 4 November 2010
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Abstract: The defatted seed meal of Camellia oleifera has been used as a natural detergent and its extract is commercially utilized as a foam-stabilizing and emulsifying agent. The goal of this study was to investigate the foam properties and detergent ability of the saponins from the defatted seed meal of C. oleifera. The crude saponin content in the defatted seed meal of C. oleifera was 8.34% and the total saponins content in the crude saponins extract was 39.5% (w/w). The foaming power of the 0.5% crude saponins extract solution from defatted seed meal of C. oleifera was 37.1% of 0.5% SLS solution and 51.3% to that of 0.5% Tween 80 solution. The R5 value of 86.0% represents good foam stability of the crude saponins extracted from the defatted seed meal of the plant. With the reduction of water surface tension from 72 mN/m to 50.0 mN/m, the 0.5% crude saponins extract solution has wetting ability. The sebum-removal experiment indicated that the crude saponins extract has moderate detergency. The detergent abilities of the saponins from C. oleifera and Sapindus mukorossi were also compared.
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Received: 8 October 2010; in revised form: 24 October 2010 / Accepted: 10 November 2010 / Published: 12 November 2010
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Abstract: Fengycin, a lipopeptide biosurfactant, was produced by indigenous Bacillus subtilis F29-3 isolated from a potato farm. Although inhibiting the growth of filamentous fungi, the fengycin is ineffective against yeast and bacteria. In this study, fengycin was isolated from fermentation broth of B. subtilis F29-3 via acidic precipitation (pH 2.0 with 5 N HCl) followed by purification using ultrafiltration and nanofiltration. The purified fengycin product was characterized qualitatively by using fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometer, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer, 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer and matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight, followed by quantitative analysis using reversed-phase HPLC system. This study also attempted to increase fengycin production by B. subtilis F29-3 in order to optimize the fermentation medium constituents. The fermentation medium composition was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) to increase fengycin production from B. subtilis F29-3. According to results of the five-level four-factor central composite design, the composition of soybean meal, NaNO3, MnSO4·4H2O, mannitol-mannitol, soybean meal-mannitol, soybean meal‑soybean meal, NaNO3-NaNO3 and MnSO4·4H2O-MnSO4·4H2O significantly affected production. The simulation model produced a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.9043, capable of accounting for 90.43% variability of the data. Results of the steepest ascent and central composite design indicated that 26.2 g/L of mannitol, 21.9 g/L of soybean meal, 3.1 g/L of NaNO3 and 0.2 g/L of MnSO4·4H2O represented the optimal medium composition, leading to the highest production of fengycin. Furthermore, the optimization strategy increased the fengycin production from 1.2 g/L to 3.5 g/L.
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Received: 1 November 2010; in revised form: 15 November 2010 / Accepted: 1 December 2010 / Published: 9 December 2010
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Abstract: Rhamnolipids are known as very efficient biosurfactant molecules. They are used in a wide range of industrial applications including food, cosmetics, pharmaceutical formulations and bioremediation of pollutants. The present review provides an overview of the effect of rhamnolipids in animal and plant defense responses. We describe the current knowledge on the stimulation of plant and animal immunity by these molecules, as well as on their direct antimicrobial properties. Given their ecological acceptance owing to their low toxicity and biodegradability, rhamnolipids have the potential to be useful molecules in medicine and to be part of alternative strategies in order to reduce or replace pesticides in agriculture.
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Received: 19 October 2010; in revised form: 3 December 2010 / Accepted: 10 December 2010 / Published: 30 December 2010
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Abstract: Lipopeptide biosurfactants (LPBSs) consist of a hydrophobic fatty acid portion linked to a hydrophilic peptide chain in the molecule. With their complex and diverse structures, LPBSs exhibit various biological activities including surface activity as well as anti-cellular and anti-enzymatic activities. LPBSs are also involved in multi-cellular behaviors such as swarming motility and biofilm formation. Among the bacterial genera, Bacillus (Gram-positive) and Pseudomonas (Gram-negative) have received the most attention because they produce a wide range of effective LPBSs that are potentially useful for agricultural, chemical, food, and pharmaceutical industries. The biosynthetic mechanisms and gene regulation systems of LPBSs have been extensively analyzed over the last decade. LPBSs are generally synthesized in a ribosome-independent manner with megaenzymes called nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs). Production of active‑form NRPSs requires not only transcriptional induction and translation but also post‑translational modification and assemblage. The accumulated knowledge reveals the versatility and evolutionary lineage of the NRPSs system. This review provides an overview of the structural and functional diversity of LPBSs and their different biosynthetic mechanisms in Bacillus and Pseudomonas, including both typical and unique systems. Finally, successful genetic engineering of NRPSs for creating novel lipopeptides is also discussed.
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Received: 17 December 2010; in revised form: 11 January 2011 / Accepted: 11 January 2011 / Published: 17 January 2011
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Abstract: Biosurfactants can be classified by their chemical composition and their origin. This review briefly describes various classes of biosurfactants based on their origin and introduces a few of the most widely used biosurfactants. The current status and future trends in biosurfactant production are discussed, with an emphasis on those derived from plants. Following a brief introduction of the properties of microbubbles, recent progress in the application of microbubble technology to molecular imaging, wastewater treatment, and aerobic fermentation are presented. Several studies on the preparation, characterization and applications of biosurfactant-based microbubbles are reviewed.
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Received: 30 November 2010; in revised form: 8 December 2010 / Accepted: 10 January 2011 / Published: 18 January 2011
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Abstract: Increasing public awareness of environmental pollution influences the search and development of technologies that help in clean up of organic and inorganic contaminants such as hydrocarbons and metals. An alternative and eco-friendly method of remediation technology of environments contaminated with these pollutants is the use of biosurfactants and biosurfactant-producing microorganisms. The diversity of biosurfactants makes them an attractive group of compounds for potential use in a wide variety of industrial and biotechnological applications. The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of advances in the applications of biosurfactants and biosurfactant-producing microorganisms in hydrocarbon and metal remediation technologies.
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Received: 2 November 2010; in revised form: 9 February 2011 / Accepted: 12 February 2011 / Published: 18 February 2011
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Abstract: Due to their non-toxic nature, biodegradability and production from renewable resources, research has shown an increasing interest in the use of biosurfactants in a wide variety of applications. This paper reviews the characterization of rhamnolipid and sophorolipid biosurfactants based on their hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity and their ability to form microemulsions with a range of oils without additives. The use of the biosurfactants in applications such as detergency and vegetable oil extraction for biodiesel application is also discussed. Rhamnolipid was found to be a hydrophilic surfactant while sophorolipid was found to be very hydrophobic. Therefore, rhamnolipid and sophorolipid biosurfactants in mixtures showed robust performance in these applications.
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Received: 9 December 2010; in revised form: 8 February 2011 / Accepted: 3 March 2011 / Published: 8 March 2011
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Abstract: Bacillus species produce extracellular, surface-active lipopeptides such as surfactin that have wide applications in industry and medicine. The steps involved in the synthesis of 3-hydroxyacyl-coenzyme A (CoA) substrates needed for surfactin biosynthesis are not understood. Cell-free extracts of Bacillus subtilis strain OKB105 synthesized lipopeptide biosurfactants in presence of L-amino acids, myristic acid, coenzyme A, ATP, and H2O2, which suggested that 3-hydroxylation occurs prior to CoA ligation of the long chain fatty acids (LCFAs). We hypothesized that YbdT, a cytochrome P450 enzyme known to beta-hydroxylate LCFAs, functions to form 3-hydroxy fatty acids for lipopeptide biosynthesis. An in-frame mutation of ybdT was constructed and the resulting mutant strain (NHY1) produced predominantly non-hydroxylated lipopeptide with diminished biosurfactant and beta-hemolytic activities. Mass spectrometry showed that 95.6% of the fatty acids in the NHY1 biosurfactant were non-hydroxylated compared to only ~61% in the OKB105 biosurfactant. Cell-free extracts of the NHY1 synthesized surfactin containing 3-hydroxymyristic acid from 3-hydroxymyristoyl-CoA at a specific activity similar to that of the wild type (17 ± 2 versus 17.4 ± 6 ng biosurfactant min−1·ng·protein−1, respectively). These results showed that the mutation did not affect any function needed to synthesize surfactin once the 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA substrate was formed and that YbdT functions to supply 3-hydroxy fatty acid for surfactin biosynthesis. The fact that YbdT is a peroxidase could explain why biosurfactant production is rarely observed in anaerobically grown Bacillus species. Manipulation of LCFA specificity of YbdT could provide a new route to produce biosurfactants with activities tailored to specific functions.
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Received: 3 November 2010; in revised form: 15 February 2011 / Accepted: 2 March 2011 / Published: 9 March 2011
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Abstract: To decontaminate dredged harbor sediments by bioremediation or electromigration processes, adding biosurfactants could enhance the bioavailability or mobility of contaminants in an aqueous phase. Pure amphisin from Pseudomonas fluorescens DSS73 displays increased effectiveness in releasing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) strongly adsorbed to sediments when compared to a synthetic anionic surfactant. Amphisin production by the bacteria in the natural environment was also considered. DSS73’s growth is weakened by three model PAHs above saturation, but amphisin is still produced. Estuarine water feeding the dredged material disposal site of a Norman harbor (France) allows both P. fluorescens DSS73 growth and amphisin production.
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Received: 1 March 2011; in revised form: 14 March 2011 / Accepted: 23 March 2011 / Published: 8 April 2011
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Abstract: Statistical experimental designs and response surface methodology were employed to optimize the concentrations of agroindustrial residues as soybean oil (SORR) from refinery, and corn steep liquor (CSL) from corn industry, for tensio-active agent produced by Candida sphaerica UCP 0995. Three 22 full factorial design were applied sequentially to investigate the effects of the concentrations and interactions of soybean oil refinery residue and corn steep liquor on the surface tension of free-cell culture broth for 144 h. Two 22 central composite designs and response surface methodology were adopted to derive a statistical model to measure the effect of SORR and CSL on the surface tension of the free-cell culture broth for 144 h. The regression equation obtained from the experimental data using a central composite design was solved, and by analyzing the response surface contour plots, the optimal concentrations of the constituents of the medium were determined: 8.63% v/v (≈9% v/v) of SORR and 8.80% v/v (≈9% v/v) CSL. The minimum surface tension predicted and experimentally confirmed was 25.25 mN/m. The new biosurfactant, denominated Lunasan, recovered 95% of motor oil adsorbed in a sand sample, thus showing great potential for use in bioremediation processes, especially in the petroleum industry.
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Last update: 12 January 2011
