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Sustainable production of bioemulsifiers, a critical overview from microorganisms to promising applications

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Abstract

Microbial bioemulsifiers are molecules of amphiphilic nature and high molecular weight that are efficient in emulsifying two immiscible phases such as water and oil. These molecules are less effective in reducing surface tension and are synthesized by bacteria, yeast and filamentous fungi. Unlike synthetic emulsifiers, microbial bioemulsifiers have unique advantages such as biocompatibility, non-toxicity, biodegradability, efficiency at low concentrations and high selectivity under different conditions of pH, temperature and salinity. The adoption of microbial bioemulsifiers as alternatives to their synthetic counterparts has been growing in ongoing research. This article analyzes the production of microbial-based emulsifiers, the raw materials and fermentation processes used, as well as the scale-up and commercial applications of some of these biomolecules. The current trend of incorporating natural compounds into industrial formulations indicates that the search for new bioemulsifiers will continue to increase, with emphasis on performance improvement and economically viable processes.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank to FAPESP (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo—Process number 2020/06323-0 and 2016/10636-8) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq-Brazil) (DS 88882.379239/2019-01) for financial support.

Funding

The authors are grateful for the support of FAPESP—Brazil (São Paulo Research Foundation) (Process number 2020/06236–0 and 2016/10636–8), CAPES—Brazil (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) for financial support and CNPq—Brazil (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development).

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DRR, RAMdC, PMF, DMR, NSAdAM, MPD, RS, PMF, JCdS and SSdS: participated had the idea and wrote the manuscript. DRR, RAMdC, PMF, DMR, NSAdAM, MPD, RS, PMF: carried out bibliographic research. DRR, RAMdC and MPD: prepared figures. MPD: analyzed the data. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Daylin Rubio-Ribeaux.

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Rubio-Ribeaux, D., da Costa, R.A.M., Montero-Rodríguez, D. et al. Sustainable production of bioemulsifiers, a critical overview from microorganisms to promising applications. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 39, 195 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-023-03611-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-023-03611-6

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