ARS | Publication request: Characterization of a Soybean Oil-based Biosurfactant and Evaluation of its Ability to Form Microbubbles

Submitted to: Bioresource Technology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: December 22, 2009
Publication Date: March 30, 2010
Citation: Xu, Q., Liu, Z., Nakajima, M., Ichikawa, S., Nakamura, N., Roy, P., Okadome, H., Shiina, T. 2010. Characterization of a Soybean Oil-based Biosurfactant and Evaluation of its Ability to Form Microbubbles. Bioresource Technology. 101:3711-3717.

Interpretive Summary: This research discovered that biodegradable soy-based polymeric surfactants can stabilize microbubbles which encapsulate flavor for food applications or encapsulate active components for pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications. An advantage of using this material instead of petroleum based surfactants is that a smaller quantity is needed to produce microbubbles, without changing the bubble properties. This is due to the higher efficiency of surface properties in the soy polymers. The soy polymers also could be prepared in carbon dioxide (CO2) media, which is inexpensive, readily available and nonflammable. This process is also environmentally-friendly. This information is important to the farmers because continue development of new uses for soybean oil is needed to prevent price depression due to the oversupply.

Technical Abstract: This paper characterizes the physio-chemical properties of the soybean oil (SBO)-based polymeric surfactant, Palozengs R-004 (hereafter referred to as R-004). The surface activity of R-004 is comparable to the reported activities of biosurfactants produced by microorganisms and higher than some of the conventional synthetic surfactants. R-004 exhibited a unique aggregation behavior: small aggregates (pre-micelles) were formed at very low concentrations. Zeta-potential measurements showed that the micelles of R-004 are negatively charged due to the presence of carboxylic groups. The ability of R-004 to form and stabilize microbubbles was evaluated and found to be greatly affected by filtration while remaining independent of R-004 concentration over the concentration range studied. These results suggest that a very low level of surfactant can be used to produce microbubbles without affecting their properties. These results also indicate that SBO-based polymers are promising surfactants for food, pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical applications.