Purification and characterization of biosurfactants produced by Pseudomonas sp. SW1

Pseudomonas sp. SW1 grew and produced biosurfactants on 3% hexadecane as the energy and carbon source. As a result of biosurfactant synthesis, the surface tension of the medium was reduced from 72 dyne/cm to 30 dyne/cm. The properties of biosurfactants that were purified from Pseudomonas sp. SW1 were investigated. The purification procedure included acid precipitation from culture supernatant, silica gel G60 column chromatography, and Sephadex G-150 gel filtration. The biosurfactants were separated into two different types, viz., types I and II. Biosurfactant type I significantly reduced the surface tension of water from 72 to 27 dyne/cm at concentration levels above 30 mg/l. The surface tension of water was reduced to a minimum of approximately 30 dyne/cm by biosurfactant type II at concentration levels over 80 mg/l. The biosurfactants were effective in a wide range of pHs, at NaCl concentrations of up to 4%, at CaCl2 concentration up to 100 mM, and at temperatures up to 200 degrees C for 8 h.