Biosurfactants for cosmetic applications.

Synopsis Biosurfactants are biologically-produced, natural surface active agents and are synthesized by a range of microorganisms. These compounds include glycolipids, lipopeptides and phospholipids. The yields of biosurfactants in microbial fermentations may be as high as 150g l(-1) and may be increased by optimizing production conditions and by strain improvement. Biosurfactants display very low critical micelle concentration (CMC) values when compared with conventional surfactants and are stable at a wide range of temperatures, pH values and salinities. They show many promising characteristics for cosmetic applications.