Providing comprehensive discussions of the physical and chemical properties, manufacture, and industrial uses of biosurfactants, this reference offers first-hand accounts of biosurfactant research of leading biotechnology laboratories. It introduces promising possible uses of biosurfactants in medicine, in environmental control, and for marine organisms. In contributions of more than 30 leading international experts, the text reviews the biosynthetic mechanisms for surfactants and their precursor molecules; explicates the biophysics of microbial surfactants and examines the production of immobilized biocatalysts, lipopeptides, and rhamnolipids. It also presents information on the economics of biosurfactants.