An Approach for Developing a Method for Biosurfactant Activity Detection

Detection of biosurfactant activity have been proposed Previously by several studies either quantitatively or qualitatively. Quantitative methods give precise measurement of the surface tension using accurate devices while qualitative measurements are considered screening methods for biosurfactant activity detection with lower precision. Due to the high cost of the direct measurement devices and in some cases the unavailability of devices, qualitative methods remain the most common used tests for screening of the surface-active properties. The need for an accurate, cheap method was the reason for this trial of developing a photometric method for a rapid, accurate biosurfactant activity detection. "α-naphthol- butanol" method is based on measuring the photometric activity of a sparingly soluble compound "α-naphthol" at its λmax. Formed emulsion of oily phase "containing α-naphthol" and aqueous phase is based on the surfactant concentration and the surface tension of the solution being tested. This method passed the first and second confirmatory tests but, in the third trial it failed. Knowing the drawbacks of this method we can manage to develop a promising modification.