Synthesis and Characterization of Surfactants from Renewable Resources

The conversion of fatty acid with natural hydroxycarboxylic acids, especially malic-, tartaric- and citric acid resulted in the easy formation of acylated hydroxycarboxylic anhydrides. We have shown that this class of anhydrides provides convenient entry into a variety of products. They readily react with natural or synthetic nucleophiles like alcohols, carbohydrates, amines and amino acids. A series of compounds were synthesized and characterized, their surface and antibacterial properties have been measured.