Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.7
3.3
Journals
Fermentation
Special Issues
The Industrial Feasibility of Biosurfactants
share announcement

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 April 2026 | Viewed by 1473

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Cristiano J. De Andrade

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Chemical and Food Engineering Department (EQA), Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis 88040-900, Brazil
Interests: biosurfactants; microalgae; green extraction methods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

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

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fermentation is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

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

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

16 pages, 931 KiB  
Article
Production and Characterization of a Novel Glycolipid Biosurfactant from Bradyrhizobium sp.
by Marcos André Moura Dias, Eduardo Luiz Rossini, Douglas de Britto and Marcia Nitschke
Fermentation 2025, 11(8), 471; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation11080471 - 15 Aug 2025
Viewed by 420
Abstract
Biosurfactants (BS) are surface-active compounds synthesized by microorganisms with broad industrial applications. Although BS-producing strains are widely reported, little is known about their production by diazotrophic bacteria. This study investigated, for the first time, the BS produced by Bradyrhizobium sp. ESA 81, a [...] Read more.
Biosurfactants (BS) are surface-active compounds synthesized by microorganisms with broad industrial applications. Although BS-producing strains are widely reported, little is known about their production by diazotrophic bacteria. This study investigated, for the first time, the BS produced by Bradyrhizobium sp. ESA 81, a diazotrophic bacterium isolated from the Brazilian semiarid region. The strain was cultivated in the mineral medium using sunflower oil and ammonium nitrate as carbon and nitrogen sources. The compound was chemically characterized using TLC, FAME, FTIR, and mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF). The results revealed a mixture of glycolipids composed of trehalose linked to fatty acid chains ranging from C9 to C18. The BS exhibited a surface tension of 31.8 mN/m, a critical micelle concentration of 61.2 mg/L, and an interfacial tension of 22.1 mN/m. The BS also showed an emulsification index (EI24) of 55.0%. High stability was observed under extreme conditions of temperature (−20 to 121 °C), pH (2–12), NaCl (5–20%), and sucrose (1–5%). These findings indicate that the trehalolipid BS produced by Bradyrhizobium sp. ESA 81 is a stable and efficient surface-active agent, with promising potential for use in biotechnological and industrial processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Industrial Feasibility of Biosurfactants)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

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 - 2 Aug 2025
Viewed by 788
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)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop