“Green” amino acid-based surfactants

The value of amino acids and vegetable oil derivatives as raw materials for the preparation of surfactants was recognized as soon as they were discovered early in the last century. Amino acid-based surfactants, which have an amino acid residue as a hydrophilic moiety, are reviewed with respect to their synthesis, properties and some applications. The review covers three main categories of amino acid-based surfactants: Nα-acyl, N-alkyl amide and O-alkyl ester derivatives among the linear or single chain amino acid-based surfactants; Nα, Nω-bis(Nα-acylarginine)α,ω-alkylendiamides, which are gemini amino acid-based surfactants; and 1-monoacyl-rac-glycero-3-O-(Nα-acetyl-L-amino acid) and 1,2-diacyl-rac-glycero-3-O-(Nα-acetyl-L-amino acid), both amino acid-based surfactants with glycerolipid-like structures.