ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with one such characteristic, the amphipathic nature of lipoheteropolysaccharide-type molecules and their application as surface-active agents. It presents a review of the properties of such exopolysaccharide bioemulsifiers. As high molecular weight polymers, exopolysaccharides generally exhibit useful physical and mechanical properties such as high viscosity, tensile strength, resistance to shear, etc. The possibility of exploiting in-situ microbial degradation of oil pollutants led to the isolation and characterization of a number of bacterial strains capable of utilizing crude oil and its derivatives as sole sources of carbon and energy. The isolation of emulsan was facilitated by the fact that it was produced by RAG-1 on water-soluble carbon sources such as ethanol. A quantitative functional assay for emulsan was developed on the basis of a linear relationship between the turbidity of the stable oil-in-water emulsion and the amount of emulsan present in the assay. The chapter concludes with a brief description of some potential applications for these interesting polymers.
