Our results

Starting from the Bacillus subtilis strain, the isolation of numerous morphological variants has made it possible to select the one with the best biosurfactant production performance, safety, stability and industrial reproducibility.

Optimizing the cultural conditions enables a high production yield; therefore, the selection and identification of liquid culture media have allowed an optimal growth of the strains and, simultaneously, the production of biosurfactants compatible with industrial production. The strong point of this medium is the combination of C and N sources, present in a well-balanced ratio to efficiently support the production of compounds characterized by a lipid portion, such as glycolipids, lipopeptides or phospholipids. The BCSMedDat database of BioC-CheM Solutions played a fundamental role in this phase of the study: in fact, the soils used were the result of the application of this screening system.

Biosurfactant research has the potential for a high degree of commercial impact. In 2021, the global surfactant market was €39.9 billion with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7%, and this valuation is projected to rise to €50.5 billion by 2028.

Surfactant compounds power diverse commercial sectors such as household/industrial cleaning, personal care/cosmetics, bioremediation and paints/printing and the application of naturally derived compounds to replace synthetically derived chemicals is a high-impact issue that attracts the interest of the market and consumers. Due to their reduced toxicity and biocompatibility, the biosurfactants obtained from BIOCOSME are ideal candidates for applications in the personal healthcare and chronic wound care sectors.