Production of Biosurfactants Using Eco-friendly Microorganisms

Abstract

Pathogenicity of biosurfactant-producing microorganisms is currently raising some health, safety and environmental concerns. As a result, the industrial-scale production and application of biosurfactants as potential alternatives to the synthetic one is still an unachieved task. The production of biosurfactants using nonpathogenic/recombinant strains requires more attention and investigation for some advantages that includes the discovery of non-toxic biosurfactants suitable for all industrial applications, identifying new biosurfactant congeners with better inherent surfaceactive properties compared to that from pathogens and synthetic ones and the synthesis of biosurfactant without complex metabolic regulations. Although a number of nonpathogenic/recombinant, eco-friendly biosurfactant-producing strains have been documented, there is need for more research in this area focusing especially on improved biosurfactant production by these strains using optimisation processes and the discovery of new nonpathogenic/recombinant strains using molecular techniques for future sustainability.

Microbial rhamnolipid production: a critical re-evaluation of published data and suggested future publication criteria

“…These concerns have driven the search for sustainable substitutes of low toxicity obtained from renewable sources to replace synthetic surfactants. Biosurfactants, a group of naturally produced surface active compounds, are presently considered as potential substitutes for synthetic surfactants due to their biodegradability, low toxicity and ability to be produced from renewable sources of raw materials (De Almeida et al 2016 ; Uzoigwe et al 2015 ).…”

“…Furthermore, the main production organism for rhamnolipid, P. aeruginosa , is classified as an opportunistic or ‘group II’ pathogen. This has raised various concerns including the risk of opportunistic infection by P. aeruginosa during large-scale industrial production (Neto et al 2009 ) and the safety of the synthesised material, especially in applications involving human contact such as biomedical, cosmetics and pharmaceutical applications (Uzoigwe et al 2015 ). As a result, researchers have also focused their attention on the search for suitable alternative non-pathogenic or ‘safe’ microorganisms capable of producing rhamnolipids.…”

Microbial Biosurfactants in Cosmetic and Personal Skincare Pharmaceutical Formulations

“…Additionally, rhamnolipids have the potential to induce biofilm detachments and dispersal, consequently rendering cells more susceptible to antimicrobial agents [ 96 ]. However, the pathogenicity status of P. aeruginosa producing rhamnolipids hinders their large-scale production and acceptance for use in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products because of the potential toxins present in them [ 97 ]. Nonetheless, currently, attention is being drawn to the production of biosurfactants from non-pathogenic microorganisms such as probiotic- and prebiotic-producing bacteria [ 98 , 99 ].…”

Biosurfactants: Potential Agents for Controlling Cellular Communication, Motility, and Antagonism

“…Most of the biosurfactant-producing organisms are pathogenic, for example, rhamnolipid-producing P. aeruginosa, Burkholderia cepacian, and Burkholderia pseudomallei ; phospholipid-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae ; lipopeptide-producing Serratia marcescens ; heteropolysaccharide-producing Cronobacter sakazakii ; and glycolipid-producing Nocardia otitidiscaviarum, Alcaligenes faecalis , etc. ( Uzoigwe et al, 2015 ).…”