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Rhamnolipid synthesis and production with diverse resources

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Abstract

Rhamnolipids are one of the most effective biosurfactants that are of great interest in industrial applications such as enhancing oil recovery, health care, cosmetics, pharmaceutical processes, food processing, detergents for protein folding, and bioremediation due to their unique characteristics such as low toxicity, surface active property to reduce surface/interfacial tensions, and excellent biodegradability. The genes and metabolic pathways for rhamnolipid synthesis have been well elucidated, but its cost-effective production is still challenging. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the most powerful rhamnolipid producer, is an opportunistic pathogen, which limits its large scale production and applications. Rhamnolipid production using engineered strains other than Pseudomonas aeruginosa such as E. coli and Pseudomonas putida has received much attention. The highest yield of rhamnolipids is achieved when oil-type carbon sources are used, but using cheaper and renewable carbon sources such as lignocellulose would be an attractive strategy to reduce the production cost of rhamnolipids for various industrial applications.

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Acknowledgements

This research is supported by the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) of Singapore (SERC grant number: 1526004161).

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  1. Institute of Chemical & Engineering Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology, and Research, Jurong Island, Singapore, 627833, Singapore

    Qingxin Li

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Dr. Qingxin Li is currently a scientist at ICES, A*STAR, Singapore. She received her Ph.D. in Microbiology from Shandong University. She received further postdoctoral trainings in Nanyang Technological University and Vanderbilt University. She was trained in microbiology, biochemistry, enzymology, structural biology, and biotechnology. Her current research interests are to convert wastes from food industries to value added chemicals that can be used in food production and drug discovery. She is working with both academia and industries to explore versatile applications of microbiology techniques to food industries. She has been working on converting Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB)-a common waste from palm oil production to fermentable sugars. She is also interested in production of biosurfactants using sugars produced from EFB, production of d-lactic acid with high purity, and folding of important enzymes in different biosurfactants. She has been using structural information to improve thermal stability of important enzymes.

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Li, Q. Rhamnolipid synthesis and production with diverse resources. Front. Chem. Sci. Eng. 11, 27–36 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-016-1607-x

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