Microbial-derived glycolipids in the sustainable formulation of biomedical and personal care products: A consideration of the process economics towards commercialization

•Microbial-derived glycolipids (MGLs) find applications biomedicine and cosmetics.•The low volumetric productivity and high cost hinder the commercialization of MGL production.•Adopting bioprocess economics minimizes cost during MGL production.•Techno-economic assessment is indispensable in translating lab-based data to commercial scale. Biosurfactants – tensioactive biometabolites – are currently preferred over their synthetic counterparts due to some unique properties such as sustainable production, eco-compatibility, and low cytotoxicity, among others. Among different biosurfactant groups currently known, the microbial-derived glycolipids (MGLs) are of growing interests in the formulation of biomedical and cosmetic products due to their structural diversities, antimicrobial properties, stability under harsh environmental conditions, and functional versatility. While the usefulness of the MGLs in biomedical and cosmetics fields cannot be overemphasized, their commercial competitiveness has been restrained due to a myriad of bottlenecks which include poor product yields and high cost of production associated with downstream processing. Herein, we reviewed the importance of process economics in MGLs production to project strategies needed for product competitiveness in terms of yields and cost which will favour their global market. The significance of techno-economic assessment in translating laboratory-based data to commercial-scale MGL production was underlined. The strategies adopted by commercial MGL-producing firms to enhance the market value of their products were also presented. Finally, the future of MGLs in the surfactant market is highlighted.