Amino acids: Building blocks for the synthesis of greener amphiphiles

Amino acid-based amphiphiles have attracted much attention as environmentally friendly surfactants because of their biodegradability, low toxicity and the use of renewable sources of raw materials for their syntheses. With respect to molecular design, the amino acid-based architecture allows the possibilities of multiple structures of amphiphiles with varying head groups and chain lengths. This review focuses on the synthetic strategies for the development of various types of surfactants derived from amino acids. Their properties in terms of surface, biological and catalytic activities are illustrated.