More natural and safer soaps: from bacteria, the revolutionary alternative to surfactants derived from petroleum

    An international research team has discovered a new molecule that could revolutionize the bio-surfactant market

    He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

    An international research team has discovered a new molecule that could revolutionize the bio-surfactant market, creating more eco-sustainable and less harmful to the environment soaps.





    Surfactants are synthesized from petroleum and are the main active ingredient in most soaps, cleansers and shampoos. Bio-surfactants, produced from bacteria, are safer and can replace synthetic surfactants. Rhamnolipids are some of the most environmentally sustainable surfactants known to date and are particularly attractive - thanks to their biodegradability, low toxicity levels and the ability to produce them from industrial waste. But there is a problem: they are made using Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium that is harmful to humans.

    "If we want to enjoy the benefits of rhamnolipids, we need to start growing these bacteria on a large scale" explains Professor Charles Gauthier, of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), which led the study. "But since this poses a risk to human health, the industry is looking for alternatives."

    The research team identified molecules resembling rhamnolipids in Pantoea ananatis, a non-pathogenic bacterium, and managed to synthesize them in the laboratory, raising the possibility that these could be produced on a large scale. The detergent industry has already shown interest in these promising bio-surfactants.  

    (Read: Unwashed: the 'fashion' of washing less to respect the environment is going crazy)

    More natural and safer soaps: from bacteria, the revolutionary alternative to surfactants derived from petroleum

    Fonte: Chemical Science

    As seen in the image, the new molecule comes in two different forms, one described as 'closed' (form A) and the other as 'open' (form B). The first molecule is in fact closed on itself to form a ring, and the process that closes this ring is called lactonization. The team demonstrated how the lactonized form has a major impact on the biological action of molecules, minimizing the properties of rhamnolipids and making them toxic.

    Fonte: Chemical Science


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