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Biosurfactants: A General Overview

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Biosurfactants

Part of the book series: Microbiology Monographs ((MICROMONO,volume 20))

Abstract

This Microbiology Monographs volume covers the current and most recent advances in the field of microbial surfactants. There is increasing interest in microbial biosurfactants for several reasons. First, biosurfactants are considered environmentally “friendly” since they are relatively nontoxic and biodegradable. Second, biosurfactants have unique structures that are just starting to be appreciated for their potential application to many different facets of the industry, ranging from biotechnology to environmental cleanup. The aim of this introductory chapter is to give a general overview of biosurfactants, their properties, their relationship to the synthetic surfactant industry, and their distribution in the environment.

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Acknowledgments

RMM gratefully acknowledges financial support of this work by the National Science Foundation (CHE-0714245) and invaluable discussions with collaborator Jeanne E. Pemberton on biosurfactant structure and chemistry. GS-Ch acknowledges financial support from CONACYT (50201) and DGPA-UNAM PAPIIT (IN200707.)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biología Molecular y Bioingeniería, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apdo. Postal 70228, Ciudad Universitaria, México D. F., 04510, México

    Gloria Soberón-Chávez

  2. Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Raina M. Maier

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  1. Gloria Soberón-Chávez
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  2. Raina M. Maier
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Correspondence to Gloria Soberón-Chávez .

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  1. Inst. Biotecnología, Dept. Microbiologia Molecular/, UNAM, Cuernavaca, MOR., Mexico

    Gloria Soberón-Chávez

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Soberón-Chávez, G., Maier, R.M. (2011). Biosurfactants: A General Overview. In: Soberón-Chávez, G. (eds) Biosurfactants. Microbiology Monographs, vol 20. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14490-5_1

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