The development of surfactants based on natural renewable resources is a concept that is gaining recognition in detergents, cosmetics, and green chemistry. This new class of biodegradable and biocompatible products is a response to the increasing consumer demand for products that are both "greener", milder, and more efficient. In order to achieve these objectives, it is necessary to use renewable low-cost biomass that is available in large quantities and to design molecular structures through green processes that show improved performance, favorable ecotoxicological properties and reduced environmental impact. Within this context, marine algae represent a rich source of complex polysaccharides and oligosaccharides with innovative structures and functional properties that may find applications as starting materials for the development of green surfactants or cosmetic actives. Thus, we have developed original surfactants based on mannuronate moieties derived from alginates (cell-wall polyuronic acids from brown seaweeds) and fatty hydrocarbon chains derived from vegetable resources. Controlled chemical and/or enzymatic depolymerizations of the algal polysaccharides give saturated and/or unsaturated functional oligomannuronates. Clean chemical processes allow the efficient transformation of the oligomers into neutral or anionic amphiphilic molecules. These materials represent a new class of surface-active agents with promising foaming/emulsifying properties.

中文翻译：

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来自海藻的低聚甘露糖醛酸酯，可作为开发绿色表面活性剂的可再生资源。

基于天然可再生资源的表面活性剂的开发是一个在洗涤剂，化妆品和绿色化学领域得到认可的概念。这类新型的可生物降解和生物相容性产品是对消费者对“更绿色”，更温和，更高效的产品日益增长的需求的回应。为了实现这些目标，有必要使用大量可再生的低成本生物质，并通过绿色工艺设计分子结构，以显示出更高的性能，有利的生态毒理学特性和减少的环境影响。在这种情况下，海洋藻类代表了复杂多糖和低聚糖的丰富来源，它们具有创新的结构和功能特性，可以作为开发绿色表面活性剂或化妆品活性物质的原料。因此，我们基于藻酸盐（褐藻的细胞壁聚尿醛酸）和植物资源衍生的脂肪烃链开发了基于甘露糖酸酯部分的原始表面活性剂。藻类多糖的受控化学和/或酶解聚产生饱和和/或不饱和功能性低聚甘露糖醛酸酯。清洁的化学过程可将低聚物有效转化为中性或阴离子两亲分子。这些材料代表了一类新型的表面活性剂，具有令人满意的发泡/乳化性能。