Sophorolipids are biobased compounds produced by the genera Starmerella and Pseudohyphozyma that gain exponential interest from academic and industrial stakeholders due to their mild and environmental friendly characteristics. Currently, industrially relevant sophorolipid productivities are reached up to 3.7 g∙L⁻¹∙h⁻¹ and sophorolipids are used in the personal care and cleaning industry at small scale. Moreover, applications in crop protection, food, bioflotation and medical fields are being extensively researched. The research and development of sophorolipids is at a crucial stage. Therefore, this work presents an overview of the state-of-the-art on sophorolipid research and their applications, while providing a critical assessment of scientific techniques and standardisation in reporting. In this review, the genuine sophorolipid producing organisms and the natural role of sophorolipids are discussed. Subsequently, an evaluation is made of innovations in production processes and the relevance of in-situ product recovery for process performance is discussed. Furthermore, a critical assessment of application research and its future perspectives are portrayed with a focus on the self-assembly of sophorolipid molecules. Following, genetic engineering strategies that affect the sophorolipid physiochemical properties are summarised. Finally, the impact of sophorolipids on the bioeconomy are uncovered, along with relevant future perspectives.

槐糖脂是由Starmerella和Pseudohyphozyma属生产的生物基化合物，由于其温和和环保的特性，引起了学术界和工业利益相关者的极大兴趣。目前，工业相关的槐糖脂产量高达 3.7 g∙L ^-1 ∙h ^-1槐糖脂被小规模用于个人护理和清洁行业。此外，在作物保护、食品、生物浮选和医疗领域的应用正在被广泛研究。槐糖脂的研发正处于关键阶段。因此，这项工作概述了槐糖脂研究及其应用的最新技术，同时提供了对科学技术和报告标准化的批判性评估。在这篇综述中，讨论了真正的槐糖脂生产生物和槐糖脂的天然作用。随后，对生产过程的创新和现场的相关性进行评估讨论了过程性能的产品回收率。此外，还对应用研究及其未来前景进行了批判性评估，重点关注槐糖脂分子的自组装。下面总结了影响槐糖脂理化性质的基因工程策略。最后，揭示了槐糖脂对生物经济的影响，以及相关的未来前景。