Recent Advances in Sophorolipid Production: from Laboratory to Pilot Scale and Beyond

Sophorolipids are glycolipid biosurfactants with the potential to replace traditional petroleum-based surfactants in various formulated products as well as having a role in novel applications in the pharmaceutical and biomedical industry, due to beneficial properties such as reduced environmental impact, reduced eco-toxicity, compared to petrochemical surfactants, and biodegradability. Recently the pace of sophorolipid focused research has greatly increased, which will be beneficial for the nascent, but quickly growing, commercial sophorolipid industry. To this end, this review provides an in-depth and critical assessment of recent developments directly related to improved sophorolipid production at the laboratory and pilot scales, with a particular focus on the development of microbial producers, media formulation, novel substrates, fermentation control and novel fermentation set-up that improve cell and sophorolipid titers, fermentation sophorolipid productivity and yield. Notable findings, trends, and knowledge gaps are discussed in detail with further comparison to prior key milestones within the literature. The insights provided will aid the future development and commercialization of sophorolipids, biosurfactants and biochemicals in general.