ABSTRACT
The present chapter deals with the advancements in the field of glycolipid biosurfactants starting from their production to their applications in recent years. Glycolipids have already been explored in numerous research fields such as environmental engineering, molecular biology, and, most importantly, nanotechnology. Microbial glycolipids have fetched significant attention these days owing to their origin from renewable sources, propitious biological activities, and surfactant characteristics in comparison to the existing innumerable synthetic surfactants. Based on their microbial origin and structural characteristics, glycolipid biosurfactants are broadly divided into four classes: rhamnolipids, sophorolipids, trehalose lipids, and mannosylerythritol lipids. Focusing on how to reduce production costs and optimize their recovery steps through various downstream processes, researchers have directed their interest towards this field with the ultimate objective of exploring new applications. Therefore, this article emphasizes the biosynthesis and structural details of the above-categorized glycolipids. In addition, we highlight the glycolipid extraction, fractionation, and purification methods for each class of glycolipids under downstream processes with the recent developments in their respective arenas.
