Substrates of Opposite Polarities and Downstream Processing for Efficient Production of the Biosurfactant Mannosylerythritol Lipids from Moesziomyces spp.

Abstract

Biosurfactants can replace fossil-driven surfactants with positive environmental impacts, owing to their low eco-toxicity and high biodegradability. However, their large-scale production and application are restricted by high production costs. Such costs can be reduced using renewable raw materials and facilitated downstream processing. Here, a novel strategy for mannosylerythritol lipid (MEL) production explores the combination of hydrophilic and hydrophobic carbon sources sideways with a novel downstream processing strategy, based on nanofiltration technology. Co-substrate MEL production by Moesziomyces antarcticus was threefold higher than using D-glucose with low levels of residual lipids. The use of waste frying oil instead of soybean oil (SBO) in co-substrate strategy resulted in similar MEL production. Moesziomyces antarcticus cultivations, using 3.9 M of total carbon in substrates, yields 7.3, 18.1, and 20.1 g/L of MEL, and 2.1, 10.0, and 5.1 g/L of residual lipids, for D-glucose, SBO, and a combination of D-Glucose and SBO, respectively. Such approach makes it possible to reduce the amount of oil used, offset by the equivalent molar increase in D-glucose, improving sustainability and decreasing residual unconsumed oil substrates, facilitating downstream processing. Moesziomyces spp. also produces lipases that broken down the oil and, thus, residual unconsumed oils are in the form of free fatty-acids or monoacylglycerol, which are smaller molecules than MEL. Therefore, nanofiltration of ethyl acetate extracts from co-substrate-based culture broths allows to improve MEL purity (ratio of MEL per total MEL and residual lipids) from 66 to 93% using 3-diavolumes.

A review on the upstream production and downstream purification of mannosylerythritol lipids

“…Therefore, consequent research was aimed at the production of MELs from waste streams containing high concentrations of simple sugars rather than ones requiring pretreatment. respectively (Faria et al, 2023). These studies showed the potential of utilizing a combination of hydrophobic and hydrophilic waste streams to achieve enhanced microbial MEL production.…”

“…Similarly, Faria et al (2023) investigated the production of MELs by P. antarctica PYCC 5048 and P. aphidis PYCC 5535, initially grown on 40 g/L glucose before being supplemented with 20 g/L waste cooking oil. It was found that P. antarctica PYCC 5048 and P. aphidis PYCC 5535 achieved competitive MEL titers of 12.6 and 10 g/L, respectively (Faria et al, 2023). These studies showed the potential of utilizing a combination of hydrophobic and hydrophilic waste streams to achieve enhanced microbial MEL production.…”

“…Finally, recent research has been aimed at the production of MEL from a combination of hydrophobic and hydrophilic waste streams Nascimento et al (2022). successfully produced MELs at a concentration of 13.98 and 13.1 g/L by cultivating P. antarctica PYCC 5048 and P. aphidis PYCC 5535 on a combination of 30% (v/v) cheese whey and 20 g/L waste cooking oil(Nascimento et al, 2022).Similarly,Faria et al (2023) investigated the production of MELs by P. antarctica PYCC 5048 and P. aphidis PYCC 5535, initially grown on 40 g/L glucose before being supplemented with 20 g/L waste cooking oil. It was found that P. antarctica PYCC 5048 and P. aphidis PYCC 5535 achieved competitive MEL titers of 12.6 and 10 g/L,…”

Unlocking the Potential of Mannosylerythritol Lipids: Properties and Industrial Applications

“…However, a recent study by Faria et al (2023) [29] showed an alternative strategy, designed to reach both sufficient MEL titres and high purity by co-feeding the microorganisms carbon sources with opposite polarities (glucose and soybean oil). This study explored the carbon equimolar substitution of part of the oil with a hydrophilic carbon source (D-glucose).…”

“…Between fermentation and final application, there is a very important step, which is the MEL's separation from the fermentation broth and subsequent purification. For this purpose, the most common techniques are liquid-liquid extraction and column chromatography, but other techniques such as membrane filtration [29,31], heat exposure and decantation [32], and separation of MEL beads with integrated devices [33] are being explored.…”