About this Research Topic
Biosurfactants – The momentous molecules originating from microbial sources are rewarding over their synthetic counterparts. Lower toxicity, biodegradability, biocompatibility, stability at extreme conditions (pH, temperature, and salinity), and production from renewable resources pose their superiority. The exceptional functional properties like wetting, foaming, detergency emulsification, abilities to reduce surface tension, interfacial tension offer enormous opportunities to explore for industrial applications. Since 1949, after the successful isolation of biosurfactants (rhamnolipid) from Pseudomonas sp., to today we have witnessed noticeable progress. Nevertheless, after 72 years of a prosperous journey in the area of biosurfactants, researchers are curious to develop commercially sound technology. Moreover, widespread demand for the biosurfactant is the solitary driving force in fetching fruitful publications. However, huge challenges, including high production costs, are the foremost concern to take biosurfactants out of the laboratory for commercial aspects. Those limitations can be overcome through the utilization of alternative cheaper substrates and efficient microorganisms.
Biosurfactants - The multifunctional materials pose countless applications in diverse industrial processes. Therefore, the demand for biosurfactants is ever-growing. However, the obligation of huge monetary inputs restricts the application of these biosurfactants on a commercial scale. These challenges can be tackled through selecting efficient microorganisms and the utilization of agro-industrial waste products as an alternative substrate. There is a need to analyze the overall process, beginning from isolation up to the product recovery, from different perspectives, in order to increase the product yield. Recombinant and mutant hyper-producer microbial strains, able to grow on a wide range of cheap substrates, may produce biosurfactants in high yield and potentially bring the required breakthrough for their economic production. It is mandatory to employ appropriate, precise, and accurate methodologies to accomplish isolation, production, and the characterization of biosurfactants. It is essential to validate the biosurfactant production technology through robust experimental evidence. Outstanding work contributed by eminent scientific communities certainly provides guidelines and standard operating procedures to uplift the status of biosurfactant industries.
This Research Topic welcomes submissions of Original Research, Mini-Review, Review, and Perspective articles from all over the world. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:
• Use of cheaper, renewable/waste substrates for the production of biosurfactant/s
• Biosurfactant production mechanism/s in yeast and bacteria
• Harnessing novel biosurfactant producing microorganisms and development of hyperproducing mutants
• Molecular approaches to identify newer biosurfactant/s producers
• Detailing physio-chemical properties and structure analysis of biosurfactant/s
• Use of biosurfactant/s or biosurfactant-based materials for innovative applications
• The investigation of the potential for using biosurfactants in diverse applications
Biosurfactants - The multifunctional materials pose countless applications in diverse industrial processes. Therefore, the demand for biosurfactants is ever-growing. However, the obligation of huge monetary inputs restricts the application of these biosurfactants on a commercial scale. These challenges can be tackled through selecting efficient microorganisms and the utilization of agro-industrial waste products as an alternative substrate. There is a need to analyze the overall process, beginning from isolation up to the product recovery, from different perspectives, in order to increase the product yield. Recombinant and mutant hyper-producer microbial strains, able to grow on a wide range of cheap substrates, may produce biosurfactants in high yield and potentially bring the required breakthrough for their economic production. It is mandatory to employ appropriate, precise, and accurate methodologies to accomplish isolation, production, and the characterization of biosurfactants. It is essential to validate the biosurfactant production technology through robust experimental evidence. Outstanding work contributed by eminent scientific communities certainly provides guidelines and standard operating procedures to uplift the status of biosurfactant industries.
This Research Topic welcomes submissions of Original Research, Mini-Review, Review, and Perspective articles from all over the world. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:
• Use of cheaper, renewable/waste substrates for the production of biosurfactant/s
• Biosurfactant production mechanism/s in yeast and bacteria
• Harnessing novel biosurfactant producing microorganisms and development of hyperproducing mutants
• Molecular approaches to identify newer biosurfactant/s producers
• Detailing physio-chemical properties and structure analysis of biosurfactant/s
• Use of biosurfactant/s or biosurfactant-based materials for innovative applications
• The investigation of the potential for using biosurfactants in diverse applications
Keywords: Biosurfactant production, Fermentation processes, Novel biosurfactant applications, Bioconversion of waste, Ecofriendly production, Microbial enhanced oil recovery, Structural characterization
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
