Standard Review

An investigation for potential development on biosurfactants

A. Salihu¹*, I. Abdulkadir² and M. N. Almustapha³

¹Department of Biochemistry, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.

²Department of Chemistry, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.

³Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto, Nigeria.

*Corresponding author. E -mail: salihualiyu@yahoo.com.

Accepted 3 September, 2009

   Abstract

Biosurfactants are surface-active metabolites produced by microorganisms. The applications of these biological compounds in the field of enhanced oil recovery and bioremediation proved effective. Besides their environmental applications; biosurfactants have shown interesting properties in several processes. Thus, this article attempts to organize this Information for ease of reference and further stimulates those that have interests in the area to explore further especially in biodegradation of recalcitrant compounds.

Key words: Biosurfactant, bioremediation, biodegradation.