Glutamate surfactants application

For the separation of amino acids, the applicability of this principle has been explored. For the separation of racemic phenylalanine, an amphiphilic amino acid derivative, 1-5-cholesteryl glutamate (14) has been used as a chiral co-surfactant in micelles of the nonionic surfactant Serdox NNP 10. Copper(II) ions are added for the formation of ternary complexes between phenylalanine and the amino acid cosurfactant. The basis for the separation is the difference in stability between the ternary complexes formed with d- or 1-phenylalanine, respectively. The basic principle of this process is shown in Fig. 5-17 [72]. 

Amino acid surfactants (AAS), both natural and synthetic types, have been the subject of many smdies, due mostly to their huge potential application in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, household, and food products. The AAS are derived from acidic, basic, or neutral amino acids. Amino acids such as glutamic acid, glycine, alanine, arginine, aspartic acid, leucine, serine, proline, and protein hydrolysates have been used as starting materials to synthesize AAS commercially and experimentally. Methods of preparation include chemical, enzymatic, and chemoenzymic processes, although chemical processes have been prevalent due to their relatively low cost of production. In recent years, more research papers have focused on the use of enzymatic methods to synthesize AAS. It is our opinion that the enzymatic approach would be more attractive to manufacturers in the near future. 

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