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Updated: May 4, 2026

Enhanced Oil Recovery using a Combination of Biosurfactants
Published on: June 3, 2022
[Advance in glycolipid biosurfactants--mannosylerythritol lipids]
Linlin Fan1, Jun Zhang1, Jin Cai1
1College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China.
Abstract:
Mannosylerythritol lipids (MELs), mainly produced by Ustilago and Pseudozyma, are surface active compounds that belong to the glycolipid class of biosurfactants. MELs have potential application in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries due to their excellent surface activities and other peculiar bioactivities. In recent years, the research field of MELs has regained much attention abroad. However, MELs are rarely studied in China. In this review, the producing microorganisms and production conditions, diverse structures, biochemical properties, structure-function relationship and biosynthetic pathways of MELs are described. Some research problems and prospects are summarized and discussed as well.
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