What do your laundry detergent and hydrocarbon-degrading marine bacteria have in common? Not much, besides surfactants. These substances lower the surface tension between substrates, targeting hydrophobic molecules like the stain on your favorite shirt or crude petroleum slicks in the Gulf of Mexico. In doing so, they serve as detergents, emulsifiers, and dispersants. Hydrocarbon-Degrading Marine Bacteria (HDMB) synthesize biosurfactants that emulsify crude petroleum constituents by capturing them within amphiphilic domains, allowing the organisms to use hydrophobic carbon substrates as a prime source of nutrition. However, biosurfactants may do more for HDMBs than provide a tasty, carbon-rich snack..
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 03:50:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015