Biosurfactants for various applications

Our primary focus is on microbial- derived surfactants, essentially from Bacillus sp. These biosurfactants with their superior functional properties are now being increasingly researched for applications in agricultural, cosmetic, food, healthcare and oil recovery sectors. The research works thus far (Phd and post doc), have focused on the development of an intensified bioprocess for the concomitant production and purification of these surface active biomolecules in stirred tank fermentors and to a lesser extent on the application side. As a part of my Ph d work, I developed a simple method for the synthesis of highly stable Ag-nanoparticles colloidal suspension, capped with lipopeptides, which showed very good antimicrobial properties. Currently, I am working on other facades of these biosurfactants applications, such as in cosmetic formulations, antimicrobial and oil recovery.   

 

Hydrolytic enzymes for the production of reducing sugars

In years to come, the usage of ethanol-blended gasoline will become mandatory in all countries, as a measure to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions. So far, starch based feed stocks such as corn, sugarcane, potato and cassava have been used most widely for bioethanol production, but the motive of their use has led to the ever continuing debate of food vs fuel. Bioethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass has undoubtedly become a viable alternative, thanks to the improved biomass hydrolysis procedures through thermo-chemical methods. But, the focus in recent years has gradually been shifting towards the use of much cleaner and less-energy intensive process, such as, enzymatic processes for the hydrolysis of complex cellulosic substrates. To a greater extent, the research focus has been on lignocellulosic biomass from wood, grass and agricultural residues. Our current research endeavors are towards the use of fruit wastes from fruit processing industries as feed stock for the production of bioethanol. Also, we have been working on the production of biopolymers from the soluble sugars extracted from fruit wastes. 

 

 

We mainly focus on thermophilic bacteria for the production of thermo-tolerant biopolymers which have imminent potential for applications in food, cosmetics, fly-ash disposal, enhanced oil recovery etc. We exploring the feasibility of using various agro-industrial wastes as substrates for the production of bio-polymer through solar powered bioreactors.