biosurfactant

Biosurfactant usually refers to surfactants of microbial origin. Most of the biosurfactants produced by microbes are synthesized extracellularly and many microbes are known to produce biosurfactants in large relative quantities. Some are of commercial interest. As a secondary metabolite of microorganisms, biosurfactants can be processed by the cultivation of biosurfactant producing microorganisms in the stationary phase on many sorts of low-priced substrates like biochar, plant oils, carbohydrates, wastes, etc. High-level production of biosurfactants can be controlled by regulation of environmental factors and growth circumstances.

== Classification == Biosurfactants are usually categorized by their molecular structure. Like synthetic surfactants, they are composed of a hydrophilic moiety made up of amino acids, peptides, (poly)saccharides, or sugar alcohols and a hydrophobic moiety consisting of fatty acids. Correspondingly, the significant classes of biosurfactants include glycolipids, lipopeptides and lipoproteins, and polymeric surfactants as well as particulate surfactants.