Glycolipid Biosurfactants, Main Classes, Functional Properties and Related Potential Applications in Environmental Biotechnology

Glycolipids, consisting of a carbohydrate moiety linked to fatty acids, are microbial surface active compounds produced by various microorganisms. Glycolipids are characterized by highly structural diversity and have the ability to decrease the surface and interfacial tension at the surface and interface respectively. It presented initially a detailed classification of glycolipid including rhamnolipids, trehalolipids, mannosylerythritol-lipids, cellobiolipids; along with their producing strain. The review described the main functional properties of glycolipid including emulsification/de-emulsification capacity, foaming and moisturizing, viscosity reduction and hydrocarbon solubilizing and mobilizing capacities. Owing these properties, they can be applied in environmental fields as hydrocarbon emulsifiers, solubilizing and mobilizing agents, for their moisturizing capabilities and ability to reduce viscosity. The review will present a detailed classification of glycolipid biosurfactants, functional properties and the potential related applications in environment and bioremediation.