Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Determine if
all necessary parameters are
present
Site
characterization
No
Determine type of
mitigation and
management
procedures required—
consistent with
geoenvironment
sustainability and
regulatory
requirements and
economic feasibility
Ye s
Lab scale
experiments
Determination if
bioremediation feasible
No
Ye s
Required
laboratory
tests
Determine if other
approaches can be used
to achieve remediation
goals
Determine if
biosurfactant
supplementation
benecial
No
Ye s
Prescribe treatment
parameters to
achieve goals
Evaluation of
environmental
impact
Field scale feasibility through
pilot tests
FIGURE 12.3
General protocol to determine feasibility and application of biosurfactants
during remediation of contaminated sites.
B
iomeDiCal
a
PPliCations
Medical applications of biosurfactants are related to the disruption of surface proper-
ties affecting adhesion of microorganisms and disruption of cell membranes causing
cell lysis. Healing of wounds (Piljac et al., 2008) is another promising application
for biosurfactants.
Biosurfactants exhibit antimicrobial, antiviral, and antifungal properties. Lipopep-
tides are the most commonly studied. MELS are also promising. Inhibition of biofilm
formation and swarming motility can enhance the reduction of infection in medical
devices and food processing environments. Chemical surfactants do not specifically
disrupt biofilms and, therefore, addition of biosurfactants may help inhibit biofilms
formed by washing at low temperatures. Other properties are anti-inflammatory and
antitumor activities.
Marchant and Banat (2012) examined replacement of chemical surfactants by
biosurfactants. They have indicated that sophorolipids exhibit sufficient yields,
whereas rhamnolipids and MELS require further development. Surfactin-mediated
gold nanoparticles (Reddy et al., 2009) is a new potential application in the biomedi-
cal field. Tailoring of the biosurfactant to specific applications will be key for future
development. Biomedical applications are more likely to lead to economic feasi-
bility. Nanotechnology developments will also enhance these applications. Further
studies will be needed on microbial interactions, biofilm formation, and motility.
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