Surfactant for better tomorrow: applied aspect of surfactant aggregates from laboratory to industry

Surfactant is a special kind of amphiphilic compound composed of water-loving and hating parts. The remarkable physical properties like interfacial tension, wettability, emulsifying and dispersing ability make the surfactant accessible for numerous applications from laboratory to commercial products. In recent years, the commercial applications of surfactant have led to greater relevance on account of the environmental concerns and market pressures of this compound. The utility of surfactants in global market increases steadily since its formulation with several beneficial aspects in pharmaceutical, detergent, cosmetic, paint, food science, gas hydrate, nanotechnology, petroleum recovery, bioremediation, chemical transformation and drug delivery. This review briefly discusses the applied aspect of surfactants in diverse area as well as catalytic effect of micelle in organic reactions from the recent literature survey. The trend of increasing use of bioderived surfactants in the modern field of research is also considered in this report. The recent advancement of surfactant-based organic transformations has been emphasized with the role of surfactant aggregates in course of different organic reactions.