Potential therapeutic applications of biosurfactants

Biosurfactants have recently emerged as promising molecules for their structural novelty, versatility, and diverse properties that are potentially useful for many therapeutic applications. Mainly due to their surface activity, these molecules interact with cell membranes of several organisms and/or with the surrounding environments, and thus can be viewed as potential cancer therapeutics or as constituents of drug delivery systems. Some types of microbial surfactants, such as lipopeptides and glycolipids, have been shown to selectively inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells and to disrupt cell membranes causing their lysis through apoptosis pathways. Moreover, biosurfactants as drug delivery vehicles offer commercially attractive and scientifically novel applications. This review covers the current state-ofthe- art in biosurfactant research for therapeutic purposes, providing new directions towards the discovery and development of molecules with novel structures and diverse functions for advanced applications.The authors acknowledge Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) (Portugal) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) (India) for financial support of the project 'MEDSURF - The potential use of biosurfactants for medical applications' developed under the scope of a bilateral agreement between Portugal and India