Nanobiosurfactants: molecules of the 21st century in pharmacy and cosmetics

Official URL: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.1201/9781003424864-18/nanobiosurfactants-molecules-21st-century-pharmacy-cosmetics-hulya-yilmaz-meriam-bouri-ebru-cubuk-demiralay

Biosurfactants are a diverse group of molecules with unique surface-active properties that are synthesized by various microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast, and fungi. These molecules have gained a lot of attention due to their remarkable characteristics, such as low toxicity, high biodegradability, and excellent economic sustainability. In addition to their surface-active properties, biosurfactants have been found to exhibit antimicrobial, and antitumor activities. Nanobiosurfactants, the new microbes-derived compounds issued from nanobiotechnology and including a large variety of nanoparticles (NPs), are currently acknowledged as the molecules of the century. Nanobiosurfactants may refer to either microbes- or biosurfactant-mediated metal NPs as well as other organic and inorganic NPs such as microbial nano-emulsions and microbial extracellular vesicles. Based on the nature of their biosurfactants they can be classified according to their chemical composition, molecular weight, ionic charge and secretion type. Nanobiosurfactants are offering new perspectives of applications specifically in medical and cosmetic industries, considering their low toxicity, specific functionalization, and biocompatibility. They have shown promising results in targeted drug delivery, cancer therapy and health care products. Nevertheless, nanobiosurfactant industries are still showing some limits related mainly to low yields, difficulties in standardization, purification and characterization that put in question their economic efficiency and biological safety.