School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK.
Trends Biotechnol. 2012 Nov;30(11):558-65. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2012.07.003. Epub 2012 Aug 16.
The drive for industrial sustainability has pushed biosurfactants to the top of the agenda of many companies. Biosurfactants offer the possibility of replacing chemical surfactants, produced from nonrenewable resources, with alternatives produced from cheap renewable feedstocks. Biosurfactants are also attractive because they are less damaging to the environment yet are robust enough for industrial use. The most promising biosurfactants at the present time are the glycolipids, sophorolipids produced by Candida yeasts, mannosylerythritol lipids (MELs) produced by Pseudozyma yeasts, and rhamnolipids produced by Pseudomonas. Despite the current enthusiasm for these compounds several residual problems remain. This review highlights remaining problems and indicates the prospects for imminent commercial exploitation of a new generation of microbial biosurfactants.
推动工业可持续发展的动力使生物表面活性剂成为许多公司议程的首要议题。生物表面活性剂提供了用可再生原料生产的替代品来替代由不可再生资源生产的化学表面活性剂的可能性。生物表面活性剂也很有吸引力，因为它们对环境的破坏较小，但足以用于工业用途。目前最有前途的生物表面活性剂是糖脂、由假丝酵母产生的槐糖脂、由假丝酵母产生的甘露糖赤藓糖醇脂（MEL）和由假单胞菌产生的鼠李糖脂。尽管目前对这些化合物的热情很高，但仍存在一些遗留问题。本综述强调了仍然存在的问题，并指出了新一代微生物生物表面活性剂即将商业化的前景。
