Physicochemical studies of novel sugar fatty acid esters based on (R)-3-hydroxylated acids derived from bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoates and their potential environmental impact

Wojciech Snoch; Ewelina Jarek; Dusan Milivojevic; Jasmina Nikodinovic-Runic; Maciej Guzik

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2023.1112053

Physicochemical studies of novel sugar fatty acid esters based on (R)-3-hydroxylated acids derived from bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoates and their potential environmental impact

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2023 Feb 9:11:1112053. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1112053. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Wojciech Snoch¹, Ewelina Jarek¹, Dusan Milivojevic², Jasmina Nikodinovic-Runic², Maciej Guzik¹

Affiliations

¹ Jerzy Haber Institute of Catalysis, Surface Chemistry Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland.
² Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.

Abstract

Sugar fatty acids esters are popular compounds widely used in both the nutritional, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries due to their amphiphilic structure and consequent ability to reduce the surface tension of solutions. Furthermore, an important aspect in the implementation of any additives and formulations is their environmental impact. The properties of the esters depend on the type of sugar used and the hydrophobic component. In this work, selected physicochemical properties of new sugar esters based on lactose, glucose and galactose and hydroxy acids derived from bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoates are shown for the first time. Values for critical aggregation concentration, surface activity and pH make it possible that these esters could compete with other commercially used esters of similar chemical structure. The investigated compounds showed moderate emulsion stabilization abilities presented on the example of water-oil systems containing squalene and body oil. Their potential environmental impact appears to be low, as the esters are not toxic to Caenorhabditis elegans even at concentrations much higher than the critical aggregation concentration.

Keywords: Caenorhabditis elegans; cosmetic industry; environmental impact; polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA); sugar esters; surface activity.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Centre of Research and Development grant TANGO-V-A/0013/2021. This project was partially funded from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia (Agreement No. 451-03-68/2022-14/200042).