Rhamnolipids as active protective agents for microorganisms against toxic substances

The presence of microbial biosurfactants decreases the toxicity of chlorophenols towards Pseudomonas putida 2A cells. The rhamnolipid-originating micelles selectively entrapped chlorophenol molecules, which resulted in their lower bioavailability to microbial cells.\ud It was observed that the effective concentrations causing 50% growth inhibition increased by 0.5, 0.35 and 0.15 for phenol, 4-chlorophenol and 2.4-dichlorophenol, accordingly. The application of surfactants as protective agents for microorganisms brings about new possibilities of using this phenomenon in bioremediation techniques