The soil fungus Mortierella alpina has been found to produce natural surfactants that outperform traditional chemical products. This discovery could lead to the development of new laundry detergents and potentially even medical applications. Scientists at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany, have identified the fungus as a potential source of valuable compounds. Mortierella alpina is a type of zygomycete fungus that is found in alpine and arctic regions. It is currently used to produce long-chain fatty acids, which are used to make arachidonic acid supplements for baby food. However, the researchers have now discovered that the fungus also produces previously unknown surfactants.
Surfactants are compounds that reduce the surface tension of liquids or the interfacial tension between two substances. They are used in a wide range of products, including detergents, soaps, and cleaning agents. The researchers were initially trying to extract peptides from the fungus, but they found that even small amounts of the substance produced a significant amount of foam. Further analysis revealed that the foam was caused by the natural surfactants produced by Mortierella alpina. The researchers found that the surfactant activity of the natural compound was even greater than that of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), a commonly used surfactant in many laundry detergents.
The discovery of these natural surfactants could have significant implications for the development of new laundry detergents and other cleaning products. In addition, the compounds could have potential medical applications. According to Markus Greßler, co-author of the study, the surfactants could be used to make biological membranes more permeable, allowing drugs to pass through cell membranes more easily. The researchers also believe that Mortierella alpina could produce many other valuable compounds, and that the potential of lower fungi as a source of raw materials has been largely overlooked. The study was published in the journal Organic Letters.
