Chemical and enzymatic modification of sophorolipids

The significance of renewable resources within the chemical industry is constantly increasing. In the pursuit of sustainability, they serve as alternatives for fossil resources whose supply is limited and who have a major impact on the environment. Due to their complex structure and divergent biological activities, sophorolipids are interesting renewable resources. Unfortunately, industrial applications of natural sophorolipids are limited because of their high production cost. Therefore, chemical and enzymatic modifications provide an excellent tool to shift the application area of sophorolipids to high-added value sectors, in particular for the pharmaceutical sector. This review will give an overview of the modifications performed so far and their possible applications. This review focuses on the chemical and enzymatic modification of sophorolipid biosurfactants into new derivatives.