Abstract
High molecular weight biosurfactants are produced from a number of different bacteria and comprise lipoproteins, proteins, polysaccharides, lipopolysaccharides or complexes containing several of these structural types, many of which have yet to be fully characterised. Lipopeptide biosurfactants are cyclic peptides with varying attached lipid chains and are most commonly isolated from Bacillus and Pseudomonas strains. A great deal of research has been carried out on these cyclic lipopeptides, and their structures have been fully characterised. The ability to isolate, purify and characterise these structures is extremely important, providing detailed information with regard to different cultivation condition and biological activities. Similar methods can be used for both lipopeptides and biopolymers especially when attempting to determine their amino acid sequences. The experimental techniques used to isolate, purify and analyse these biosurfactants are widely varied from simple colorimetric assays giving an approximate indication of the type of compounds present to the more complex mass spectrometric techniques that provide information on molecular mass and structural features. Mass spectrometry provides essential information in the identification of these structures using sophisticated MS/MS analysis and software technologies. The use of Edman degradation can help confirm the results observed from de novo sequencing experiments, thus providing further confirmation of amino acid sequence of both lipopeptides and protein-containing biopolymers. This chapter details information on the most commonly reported techniques used to analyse these types of biosurfactants.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | Protocols for the Isolation and Analysis of Lipopeptides and Bioemulsifiers |
| Pages | 3-28 |
| Number of pages | 26 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 4 Dec 2014 |