Biosurfactants: Properties and Applications in Drug Delivery, Biotechnology and Ecotoxicology

• Type: Another Publication in an International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2021

Authors

Bjerk, TR (Author) Other; Severino, P (Author) Other; Jain, S (Author) Other; Marques, C (Author) Other; Silva, AM (Author) Other; Pashirova, T (Author) Other; Souto, EB (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Bioengineering

Vol. 32

Final page: 115

Publisher: MDPI

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citations

Scopus - 80 Citations

Scientific classification

CORDIS: Health sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00V-C7Y

DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering8080115

Abstract (EN): Surfactants are amphiphilic compounds having hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties in their structure. They can be of synthetic or of microbial origin, obtained respectively from chemical synthesis or from microorganisms' activity. A new generation of ecofriendly surfactant molecules or biobased surfactants is increasingly growing, attributed to their versatility of applications. Surfactants can be used as drug delivery systems for a range of molecules given their capacity to create micelles which can promote the encapsulation of bioactives of pharmaceutical interest; besides, these assemblies can also show antimicrobial properties. The advantages of biosurfactants include their high biodegradability profile, low risk of toxicity, production from renewable sources, functionality under extreme pH and temperature conditions, and long-term physicochemical stability. The application potential of these types of polymers is related to their properties enabling them to be processed by emulsification, separation, solubilization, surface (interfacial) tension, and adsorption for the production of a range of drug delivery systems. Biosurfactants have been employed as a drug delivery system to improve the bioavailability of a good number of drugs that exhibit low aqueous solubility. The great potential of these molecules is related to their auto assembly and emulsification capacity. Biosurfactants produced from bacteria are of particular interest due to their antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties with therapeutic and biomedical potential. In this review, we discuss recent advances and perspectives of biosurfactants with antimicrobial properties and how they can be used as structures to develop semisolid hydrogels for drug delivery, in environmental bioremediation, in biotechnology for the reduction of production costs and also their ecotoxicological impact as pesticide alternative.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 18