Microbial originated surfactants with multiple applications: a comprehensive review

Abstract

Microbial synthesized surfactants are used in contaminated soil bioremediation processes and have multiple applications in various industries. These compounds minimize the negative influences in soil via absorption by detoxifying the toxic metals or compounds. Further, applications of biosurfactants are detected in treating chronic diseases or synthetic drugs alternatives in current periods. Various surfactant molecules can provide many benefits due to their diversities in structural and functional groups. These compounds showed a wide array of applications in multiple sectors such as biomedical or pharmaceutical fields. Agricultural, food processing, laundry, or other sectors. Many microbial systems or plant cells are utilized in biosurfactant production as confirmed by biochemical analysis of genome sequencing tools. Biosurfactant compounds can alter drug transport across the cell membrane. Different nature of biosurfactant compounds exhibited their antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral activities, or antiadhesive coating agents used in reduction of many hospital infections. These distinct properties of biosurfactants pushed their broad spectrum applications in biomedical, agriculture sectors and bioremediation tasks. Additionally, many strains of fungi or bacteria are utilized for biosurfactant synthesis involved in the detoxification of soil/other components of the environment. In these reviews, authors explained various biosurfactants molecules and their mode of actions. Also, applications of microbial originated biosurfactants along with their process technologies are described. Future perspectives of biosurfactants and their scope are also critically explained so that this review paper can be used as a showcase for production and application of biosurfactants.

Keywords: Antibacterial; Antiviral agents; Bacteria; Biomedical application; Biosurfactant; Fungi.