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Microbial Biosurfactant Screening: Diversity in Assessment Methods Cover

Microbial Biosurfactant Screening: Diversity in Assessment Methods

Advancements of Microbiology
Volume 62 (2023): Issue 3-4 (November 2023)
By: Rafeya Sohail and  Nazia Jamil  
Open Access
|Nov 2023
Figures & tables

Figures & Tables

Fig. 1.

Supernatant based biosurfactant screening methods.(Figure depicts the isolation of microbes from environment and screening for biosurfactant)

Biosurfactant screening methods: advantages and disadvantages

Screening methodsAdvantagesDisadvantagesReferences
Emulsification Index

  • Simple to use

  • Gives indication of biosurfactant presence

  • Low stability of emulsion

  • Surface activity and emulsification capacity do not always correlate

(5, 7)
Surface tension test

  • Precise

  • Simple

  • Reliable

  • Concurrent measurements present difficulties

  • Variation prone

(15)
Oil displacement/Oil spreading test

  • High precision

  • Small sample volume

  • Low quantity of biosurfactant detected

  • No need for specialized equipment

  • Rapid

  • Amount of oil used influences detection

(22)
Drop collapse assay

  • Simple

  • Rapid

  • No need for specialized equipment

  • Small sample volume

  • Low sensitivity

(9, 17)
Penetration assay

  • Used for screening large number of samples

  • Qualitative

(29)
Optical distortion grid assay

  • Easy

  • Rapid

  • Sensitive

  • Small sample volume

  • Suitable for automated high throughput screening

  • Rough

  • Only qualitative

(29)
BATH assay

  • Simple

  • Inexpensive

  • Indirect

  • Only qualitative

(14)
Tilted glass slide test

  • Simple

  • Easy

  • Preliminary

  • If negligible amount of surfactant is present, false results are given

(27)
Hydrocarbon overlay agar test

  • Direct

  • Efficient

  • Cannot be used if microbe does not degrade hydrocarbons

(30)
Atomized oil assay

  • Surface enhanced biosurfactant production is shown

  • Many strains only produce biosurfactant in liquid media

(11)
Blood hemolysis test

  • Preliminary screening method

  • Also predicts surface activity of producer

  • Dubious results (lytic enzymes can also cause hemolysis)

  • Hydrophobic substrates cannot be used as sole carbon source

  • Diffusion restriction can inhibit zone formation

(22)
Blue agar plate test

  • Semi-quantitative

  • Allows various culture conditions

  • Specific for anionic biosurfactants

  • Inhibits growth of some microbes

(7, 11)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/am-2023-0013 | Journal eISSN: 2545-3149 | Journal ISSN: 0079-4252
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Language: English, Polish
Page range: 145 - 155
Submitted on: Sep 1, 2022
Accepted on: Jan 1, 2023
Published on: Nov 9, 2023
Published by: Polish Society of Microbiologists
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 4 issues per year
Keywords:
biosurfactant,
screening,
supernatant,
biomass,
PCR
Related subjects:
Life sciences,
Microbiology and virology

© 2023 Rafeya Sohail, Nazia Jamil, published by Polish Society of Microbiologists
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Volume 62 (2023): Issue 3-4 (November 2023)
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