Recent advances on the interaction of glycolipid and lipopeptide biosurfactants with model and biological membranes

Abstract

Microbial biosurfactants have gained interest in the last decades because of their unique characteristics. The variety of chemical structures within these compounds makes them very versatile, with glycolipids and lipopeptides outstanding among the rest. The amphiphilic nature of these compounds makes them to partition into and strongly interact with phospholipid membranes, modifying their structure and function. Thus, much research has been done on the characterization of the interaction of glycolipid and lipopeptide biosurfactants with model and biological membranes. Whereas the studies involving phospholipid model membranes were mostly carried out earlier, most of the recent research has focused on biological membranes, including mammalian and microorganisms' systems. This review presents the recent developments achieved on the interaction of the main glycolipid and lipopeptide biosurfactants with model and biological membranes.