Surface-Active Properties of Succinoyl Trehalose Lipids as Microbial Biosurfactants

Succinoyl trehalose lipids are new types of microbial biosurfactants produced by a hydrocarbon-assimilating bacterium. The surface active properties of its sodium salt were investigated and compared with those of ordinary synthetic surfactants. These biosurfactants exhibited excellent surface tension lowering, dispersing, dispersion-stabilizing, and emulsifying actions etc.. These properties may possibly be explained in term of the adsorption action of the bifunctional hydrophilic moieties (trehalose and carboxylate) of succinoyl trehalose lipids.