The Industrial Feasibility of Biosurfactants

A special issue of Fermentation (ISSN 2311-5637). This special issue belongs to the section "Industrial Fermentation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 205

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Dear Colleagues,

Biosurfactants are surface-active compounds produced by microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast, and fungi. They have gained significant attention due to their biodegradability, low toxicity, and environmental compatibility compared to synthetic surfactants. The production of biosurfactants involves the fermentation process, where microorganisms are cultivated in a nutrient-rich media. The choice of microorganism and medium composition, including carbon and nitrogen sources, influences the yield and properties of the biosurfactants produced. Common methods for extracting and purifying biosurfactants include solvent extraction, precipitation, and chromatographic techniques. Biosurfactants have a wide range of applications across various industries. In the petroleum industry, they can be used for microbial-enhanced oil recovery and the bioremediation of oil spills, since they significantly reduce surface and interfacial tension. In the food industry, they can be used as emulsifying agents, stabilizing blends of water and oil in products such as sauces and dressings. Biosurfactants are also valuable in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries, where they function as emulsifiers, foaming agents, and wetting agents in formulations such as creams, lotions, and shampoos. Additionally, in the agricultural sector, they are utilized for biocontrol against plant pathogens and in eco-friendly pesticide formulations. The versatility and sustainability of biosurfactants continue to drive research and innovation in their production and application. Therefore, this Special Issue is focused on, but not limited to, the production of biosurfactants, including yields, purification, culture medium composition, scale-up, etc.

Dr. Cristiano J. De Andrade
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • glycolipids
  • rhamnolipids
  • sophorolipids
  • mannosylerythritol lipids
  • lipopeptides and lipoproteins
  • surfactin
  • polymeric biosurfactants

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 1458 KiB  
Article
Production of a Biosurfactant for Application in the Cosmetics Industry
by Ana Paula Barbosa Cavalcanti, Gleice Paula de Araújo, Káren Gercyane de Oliveira Bezerra, Fabíola Carolina Gomes de Almeida, Maria da Glória Conceição da Silva, Alessandra Sarubbo, Cláudio José Galdino da Silva Júnior, Rita de Cássia Freire Soares da Silva and Leonie Asfora Sarubbo
Fermentation 2025, 11(8), 451; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation11080451 (registering DOI) - 2 Aug 2025
Abstract
The cosmetics industry has been seeking to develop products with renewable natural ingredients to reduce the use of or even replace synthetic substances. Biosurfactants can help meet this demand. These natural compounds are renewable, biodegradable, and non-toxic or have low toxicity, offering minimal [...] Read more.
The cosmetics industry has been seeking to develop products with renewable natural ingredients to reduce the use of or even replace synthetic substances. Biosurfactants can help meet this demand. These natural compounds are renewable, biodegradable, and non-toxic or have low toxicity, offering minimal risk to humans and the environment, which has attracted the interest of an emerging consumer market and, consequently, the cosmetics industry. The aim of the present study was to produce a biosurfactant from the yeast Starmerella bombicola ATCC 22214 cultivated in a mineral medium containing 10% soybean oil and 5% glucose. The biosurfactant reduced the surface tension of water from 72.0 ± 0.1 mN/m to 33.0 ± 0.3 mN/m after eight days of fermentation. The yield was 53.35 ± 0.39 g/L and the critical micelle concentration was 1000 mg/L. The biosurfactant proved to be a good emulsifier of oils used in cosmetic formulations, with emulsification indices ranging from 45.90 ± 1.69% to 68.50 ± 1.10%. The hydrophilic–lipophilic balance index demonstrated the wetting capacity of the biosurfactant and its tendency to form oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions, with 50.0 ± 0.20% foaming capacity. The biosurfactant did not exhibit cytotoxicity in the MTT assay or irritant potential. Additionally, an antioxidant activity of 58.25 ± 0.32% was observed at a concentration of 40 mg/mL. The compound also exhibited antimicrobial activity against various pathogenic microorganisms. The characterisation of the biosurfactant using magnetic nuclear resonance and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that the biomolecule is a glycolipid with an anionic nature. The results demonstrate that biosurfactant produced in this work has potential as an active biotechnological ingredient for innovative, eco-friendly cosmetic formulations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Industrial Feasibility of Biosurfactants)
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