Lipase catalyzed synthesis of ester-based surfactants from biomass derivatives

Non-ionic surfactants find a unique place in pharmaceutical, detergent, food, and cosmetic industries because of their ready availability from biomass, low cost, and renewability. Generally these surfactants are esters obtained from the reaction of glycerol, L-ascorbic acid, and sugar, with long or medium chain fatty acids. Problems encountered during the synthesis of these surfactants are the immiscibility of highly polar substrates in organic solvents and non-regioselective reaction. Therefore, lipases as a catalyst and t-butanol or acetone, a mixture of solvent and ionic liquid as solvents, have been used for the synthesis of ester-based surfactants. This review focuses on the uses of lipases for the synthesis of surfactants obtained from biomass derivatives viz. fats and oils, sugar and vitamin-C. (c) 2008 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd