In recent years, due to the needs of environmental protection and biosafety, the development and use of environment-friendly surfactants have attracted more and more attention in the world. Amino acid surfactant has good wettability, foaming, antibacterial, antiseptic and antistatic properties, almost non-toxic and harmless, mild to the skin, its degradation products for amino acids and fatty acids, so almost no impact on the environment. It also has the advantage of good compatibility with other surfactants, can be widely used in cosmetics (facial cleanser, shower gel, shampoo, facial mask, etc.). , detergent, food, beverage, medicine and health, mineral flotation, etc.
1. Synthesis process and progress
The amino acids (and their salts) commonly used in the synthesis of N-acylamino acid series surfactants mainly include sarcosine, glutamate, serine, alanine, valine, leucine and so on. Of these, sarcosine was the most commonly used. The fatty acids used are divided into saturated fatty acids and unsaturated fatty acids, such as lauric acid, oleic acid, coconut oleic acid, palm oleic acid, hard fatty acid, caprylic acid and so on. Lauric acid and oleic acid are more commonly used. According to the starting material, the synthesis process can be divided into direct method and indirect method.
2. Application status
Amino acid surfactants have been used in many fields because of their good biodegradability, safety and antibacterial ability, besides the functions of traditional surfactants. In addition to their widespread use in traditional personal cleaners, food additives, metal processing, ore flotation and oil extraction, they have also been used in biomedical applications in recent years.