Microbial biosurfactants: an overview of their production optimization, medical applications, and chemical characterization.

Microbial biosurfactants are amphiphilic compounds of microbial origin with unique properties that make them an attractive alternative to chemical surfactants. In this review, the major chemical classes of biosurfactants are outlined, and analytical methods employed for their characterization, such as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), are discussed. The medical and pharmaceutical applications of biosurfactants as antimicrobial agents, biofilm disruptors, anti-adhesive agents, anti-tumor agents, and immunomodulators, in addition to their potential in drug delivery and wound healing, are presented. The microbial strains responsible for their synthesis are discussed, and various optimization models used to improve biosurfactant production yields are explored. The current limitations hindering the widespread use of natural biosurfactants are addressed, and the emerging field of nanobiosurfactants, which facilitates the synthesis of metal nanoparticles and the development of microbial nano-emulsions and extracellular vesicles for various applications, is introduced. Finally, future perspectives are presented, emphasizing the need for structure-activity relationship studies, metabolic engineering of hyper-producing strains, and robust preclinical and clinical evaluations to facilitate the development of biosurfactant-based therapeutics for real-world clinical applications.