Biosurfactant A Biomolecule and its Potential Applications

Abstract

Increasing awareness of environmental pollution has resulted in the development of technologies that can help in cleaning of organic and inorganic pollutants. One of the significant microbial technologies has led to production of compounds of great importance called biosurfactants having immense importance in reducing pollution by replacing many organic molecules that are causing environmental pollution. Biosurfactants are defined as biologically derived microbial surfactants. Biosurfactants are surface active molecules which are produced by the varied range of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi and yeast. They are amphiphilic compounds synthesized from plants also. They are easily biodegradable, non-toxic and environmentally resourceful. All surfactants which are available in the market are synthetically adapted. Biosurfactants have certain advantages over the chemical surfactants such as good environmental affinity, high selectivity, higher biodegradability, higher foaming, low toxicity, multi-functionality, availability of resources and specific activity under severe conditions of temperature, pH and salinity etc., due to their domestic and industrial applications. Great, attention of researchers of present time is attracted towards biosurfactants is mostly because of their multifunctional properties and varied synthetic aptitudes of the microbes. These compounds are primarily classified according to their molecular weight, physical properties, chemical properties and mode of action. It can be produced through use of renewable substances as potential carbon sources such as agricultural wastes (sugars, molasses, and whey), dairy industries, oil industries, etc. This leads to larger possibility of cost-effective biosurfactant production and ecological management of undesirable industrial and domestic wastes. In this regard, this chapter include classification, production and certain efficient environmental and industrial applications such as agricultural, cosmetic, food processing, medicine, pharmaceutical, petroleum, textile and waste water treatment etc., which could be potentially very helpful approaches to environmental safety.