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Biosurfactants: An Agent to Keep Environment Clean

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Microbial Biotechnology

Abstract

Biosurfactants (BFs) are the agent produced by the bacteria, yeast and fungi. They have unique properties such as high activity, less toxicity, biodegradability and ease of production from renewable resources. They are msophorolipidsainly surface active molecules having hydrophobic and hydrophilic moieties which make them good emulsifiers. The biosurfactants vary in their chemical properties and molecular weight as well and are usually secreted extracellularly. The biochemical diversity of BFs makes them a source for green chemicals having many potentials applications for the environment. Some of the examples of biosurfactant producing microorganisms are Lysinibacillus fusiformis, Bacillus tequilensis, Acinetobacter sp., Aspergillus niger, Arthrobacter sp. Due the diversity and distinct features, they are used for the removal of heavy metal or organic contaminant from the contaminated substances or ecological keys. It is an eco-friendly method to keep environment clean. Present study focus on the types of BFs and its environmental applications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Directorate of Environment and Climate Change, Trivandrum, Kerala, India

    Padma Mahanti

  2. Ambika Prasad Research Foundation, Odisha, India

    Sanjeet Kumar

  3. Research Institute of Biotechnology and Medical Converged Science, Dongguk University, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

    Jayanta Kumar Patra

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  1. Padma Mahanti
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  2. Sanjeet Kumar
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  3. Jayanta Kumar Patra
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Correspondence to Sanjeet Kumar or Jayanta Kumar Patra .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dongguk University, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea (Republic of)

    Jayanta Kumar Patra

  2. TransDisciplinary University, Bangalore, Karnataka, India

    Chethala N. Vishnuprasad

  3. Dongguk University, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea (Republic of)

    Gitishree Das

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Mahanti, P., Kumar, S., Patra, J.K. (2017). Biosurfactants: An Agent to Keep Environment Clean. In: Patra, J., Vishnuprasad, C., Das, G. (eds) Microbial Biotechnology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6847-8_18

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