Patent Application: US-201213644563-A

Abstract:
a method for controlling pests by modifying derivatives of sophorolipids and applying the modified sophorolipid derivatives to the plant pathogen or to an environment in which the pathogens may occur or are located in an amount such that the pathogens are substantially controlled .

Description:
embodiments of this invention are based on the discovery that the administration of pure sophorolipid components of natural mixtures , sophorolipid derivatives , mixtures of different sophorolipid derivatives and mixtures of sophorolipid derivatives with natural sophorolipid compounds can reduce the proliferation of plant pathogenic bacteria , fungi and their spores and zoospores . embodiments of this invention include pure sophorolipids and / or new sophorolipid analogs as well as mixtures of sophorolipids and / or their derivatives . embodiments of this invention also include carrying out two or more of the described modification methods on sophorolipid molecules so that changes in structure are carried out at multiple sites of sophorolipid molecules . furthermore , the reduction of proliferation of plant pathogenic bacteria , fungi and their spores and zoospores can be further enhanced through formulation of individual or combinations of two or more sophorolipid derivatives and pure sophorolipid components . embodiments of this invention include formulation of modified sophorolipids with inert ingredients as listed in epa &# 39 ; s eligible inert ingredients list ( http :// www . epa . gov / opprd001 / inerts / section25b_inerts . pdf ) and any other material that could be used as an inert ingredient in the future . new sophorolipid derivatives are disclosed herein that further expand the range of modified sophorolipids that can be used in the above applications . this invention also incorporates additional variations in sophorolipid structures beyond those disclosed herein that does not depart from the scope and spirit of the invention . the bio - based and modified sophorolipids that comprise the present invention are obtained from pure fatty acids , fatty acid mixtures , pure fatty acid ester , mixtures of fatty acid esters , and triglycerides along with carbohydrate sources such as corn syrup , dextrins and glucose using a fermentation process comprising a wild - type or engineered yeast strain such as candida bombicola . these sophorolipids generally consist of a hydrophilic carbohydrate head , sophorose , and a hydroxylated fatty acid tail with 16 or 18 carbon atoms with saturation and unsaturation . sophorose is an unusual disaccharide that consists of two glucose molecules linked β - 1 , 2 . furthermore , sophorose in sophorolipids can be acetylated on the 6 ′- and / or 6 ″- positions ( fig1 ). the hydrophobic fatty acid tail of sophorolipids normally is hydroxylated at the terminal or subterminal positions and is β - glycosidically linked to the sophorose molecule ( the polar head group ). the fatty acid carboxylic acid group is either free ( acidic or open form ) or internally esterified generally at the 4 ″- position ( lactonic form ). the hydroxy fatty acid component of sophorolipids generally has 16 or 18 carbon atoms with generally one unsaturated bond . however , the sophorolipid fatty acid can also be fully saturated . as such , sophorolipids synthesized by c . bombicola consist of a mixture of molecules that are related . differences between these molecules are found based on the fatty acid structure ( degree of unsaturation , chain length , and position of hydroxylation ), existing in the lactonic or ring - opened form , and the acetylation pattern . sophorolipids derivatives disclosed herein are described based on the predominant fatty acid constituent , 17 - hydroxyoleic acid , produced by c . bombicola when fed crude oleic acid or rapeseed oil or canola oil as its fatty acid source . however , sophorolipid derivatives disclosed herein can be produced by using sophorolipids prepared from a wide range of other fatty acid and carbohydrate feedstocks by a fermentation process . sophorolipid compositions derived from other fatty acid sources of different chain length and degree of unsaturation are included within the invention disclosed in this specification without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . under a blanket of nitrogen in a 250 ml parr bottle , a solution of lactonic sophorolipid mixture ( 5 . 00 g , 7 . 50 mmol in 75 ml 95 % ethanol ) was charged with 100 mg of 10 wt % pd / c . the reactor was degassed and charged with 1 atm hydrogen . the reaction was allowed to run for 4 hours ( the hydrogen pressure was periodically increased to 1 atm during this time ). after 4 hours , the reaction mixture was filtered to remove the bulk of the pd / c and the solution concentrated to dryness to afford white waxy crystals . to a solution of ethyl ester derivative ( compound code 7 ) ( 325 . 4 mg , 0 . 5 mmol ) prepared from sophorolipid mixture was added vinyl acetate ( 0 . 231 l , 2 . 5 mmol ) in dry thf ( 5 ml ) and novozyme 435 ( 100 mg ). the mixture was stirred at 40 ° c . for 4 hours under nitrogen atmosphere and the enzyme filtered out and washed with thf . the product was evaporated to dryness and purified by flash chromatography ( silica gel , 1 : 10 meoh / chcl 3 ). to 700 mg ( 1 . 1 mmol ) sophorolipid methyl ester ( compound code 6 ) was added n ′, n ′- dimethylethylenediamine ( 950 mg , 11 mmol , 10 equiv .). the reaction mixture was heated to 70 ° c . for 12 hours and concentrated to dryness ( excess n ′, n ′- dimethylethylenediamine was removed in this step ). the product was purified by flash chromatography ( 1 : 9 meoh / chcl 3 ). to 300 mg ( 0 . 43 mmol ) sophorolipid n ′, n ′- dimethylethylamide ( sl - am - 3 ) was added methyl iodide ( 0 . 037 ml , 0 . 60 mmol , 1 . 4 equiv ) in 2 ml methanol . the reaction mixture was heated to reflux temperature for 24 hours and concentrated in vacuo . the product was purified by flash chromatography ( 1 : 9 meoh / chcl 3 ). one class of sophorolipid derivatives includes lactonic and acidic sophorolipids in which the c ═ c bond has been reduced by hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst ( fig1 ). an exemplary reaction , applied to the conversion of lactonic sophorolipid ( compound code 2 ) to hydrogenated lactonic sophorolipid ( compound code 5 ), is shown below . it is contemplated that all of the derivatives ( ester , amide , acetylated sophorose , inter alia ) could be synthesized in a hydrogenated form . a related class of modifications at the c ═ c double bond include dihydroxylation carried out , for example , using the sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation catalyst . other routes familiar to one skilled in the art would include acid catalyzed hydrolysis of the corresponding epoxide that could be generated using m - chloroperbenzoic acid or the jacobsen epoxidation catalysts . a related class of modifications at the c ═ c double bond include the thiol - ene reaction that would lead to the formation of the corresponding thioether . a second class of sophorolipid derivatives includes esterified ring - opened sophorolipids . esterification of sophorolipids is achieved by alcoholysis of natural sophorolipid mixtures . esters of varying chain lengths and with varying degrees of branching and containing a variety of heteroatoms are included in this invention ( fig7 ). moreover , methods are already disclosed in the literature that describe selective acetylation of sls at the 6 ′- and / or 6 ″- hydroxy sophorose groups . therefore one skilled in the art will recognize that many variants may be generated by permutations of the ester functional group and sophorose acetyl groups . a third class of sophorolipid derivatives includes amides of acidic sophorolipids . representative examples of sophorolipid amide derivatives are shown in fig8 . in the exemplary reaction shown , sophorolipid amides can be synthesized from the sophorolipid methyl ester derivative ( compound code 6 ) by treatment with an amine at elevated temperature . it is contemplated that a variety of amines , diamines , triamines of differing chain lengths containing aliphatic , olefinic , acetylenic , and aromatic substituents can be used to synthesize the corresponding amide derivatives . additionally , inclusive of this invention are amides derived from biogenic amines including , but not limited to , 4 - aminosalicylic acid , 5 - aminosalicylic acid , octopamine , 3 - hydroxytyramine , phenethylamine , tryptamine , histamine , spermine , spermidine , 1 , 5 - diaminopentane . additionally , inclusive of this invention are amides bearing at the sophorose head group ionic moieties such as sulfate , sulfonate , phosphate , carboxylate and quarternary ammonium salts that result in cationic or anionic charged head groups . additionally , it is contemplated that a variety of substituted amino - containing compounds can be used as a platform to expand the family of sophorolipid amides and that amino acids and polypeptides of varying chain lengths and composition can be incorporated ( fig1 ). a fourth class of sophorolipids includes ammonium salts derived from sl - amides with n ′, n ′- dimethylamino moieties . an exemplary reaction is conversion of the sophorolipid n ′, n ′- dimethylethylamide derivative into the corresponding ammonium salt by treatment with methyl iodide at elevated temperature . it is contemplated that the quaternary ammonium salt may be prepared from alkyl halides of varying chain length as well as βββ - diiodoalkanes , leading to the formation of a wide array of sophorolipid structures . a fifth class of sophorolipids include those modified at the sophorose 6 ′ or 6 ″ positions by , inter alia , an activated acyl molecule such as the vinyl ester or alkyl ester of propionic acid catalyzed by an enzyme catalyst such as a lipase in conjunction with one or more of the modifications described herein . in one exemplary prior art reaction , the unsubstituted open - chain acidic sophorolipid is acetylated at the sophorose 6 ′- hydroxyl position . it is contemplated that carbonyl compounds of varying chain lengths and degrees of branching can be incorporated in the present invention and that a variety of carbonyl - containing functional groups can be incorporated including succinate , malate and citrate . additionally , it is contemplated that esters of amino acids and oligopeptides can be incorporated at the 6 ′ and / or 6 ″ positions of the sophorose ring . finally , it is contemplated that the 6 ′ and / or 6 ″ positions of the sophorose ring may be alkylated ( fig1 ) by ethylene oxide or a substituted alkylene oxide such as 2 , 3 - epoxypropyl - 1 , 1 , 1 - trimethylammonium chloride ( quab151 ) or related electrophiles . such substitutions will likely occur at the primary ( 1 °) 6 ′ and / or 6 ″ positions but may also occur at the secondary ( 2 °) sophorose ring hydroxyl groups to generate mixtures of sophorolipid derivatives . a sixth class of sophorolipids include those formed from transalkylidenation of carbon - carbon double bonds ( c ═ c ) within r 4 ( fig4 ) of lactonic or open - chain acidic sophorolipids ( fig1 ). novel compounds in this class include alkenes with linear or branched alkyl substituents . additional novel compounds contemplated in this class are those in which the olefinic carbon generated from a transalkylidenation of carbon - carbon double bonds ( c ═ c ) within r 4 is substituted with groups that contain an aryl , heterocyclic , cationic , anionic or neutral moieties ( fig1 , r 3 = h , alkyl , aryl , alkanamide , heterocycle ). the transalkylidenation chemistries described herein can be applied to carbon - carbon double bonds ( c ═ c ) within r 4 for both the open chain and lactonic sl forms ( see fig4 ). furthermore , combinations of metathesis ( performed on either the lactonic or open chain sl ) and chemical modification can be anticipated . as one illustrative example , the cross metathesis of lactonic sophorolipid with vinyl acrylate will produce a diester wherein each of the ester groups can be converted into the corresponding amide derivative ( scheme 2 ). r 1 = r 2 = h ; r 3 = me r 1 = r 2 = h ; r 3 = et r 1 = r 2 = h ; r 3 = bu r 1 = ac ; r 2 = h ; r 3 = et r 1 = r 2 = ac ; r 3 = et r 1 = h ; r 2 = ac ; r 3 = bu r 1 = r 2 = ac ; r 3 = bu r 1 = h ; r 2 = ac ; r 3 = et r 3 = ch 2 ch 2 oh r 3 = ch 2 ch 2 nme 2 r 3 = ch 2 ch 2 nme 3 + r 3 = ch 2 ch 2 nh 2 r 3 = ( ch 2 ) 4 nh 2 r 3 = ( ch 2 ) 6 nh 2 r 3 = ( ch 2 ) 8 nh 2 r 3 = ch 2 ch 2 sh r 3 = ch 2 ch 2 -( 1 - pyrrolidinyl ) r 3 = ch 2 ch 2 -( 2 - imidazolyl ) r 3 = ( ch 2 ) 5 nh 2 r 3 = ( ch 2 ) 3 nh ( ch 2 ) 4 nh 2 r 3 = ( ch 2 ) 3 nh ( ch 2 ) 4 nh —( ch 2 ) 3 nh 2 r 3 = ch 2 ch 2 -( 1 - imidazole ) r 3 = ch 2 ch 2 -( p , o - benznendiol ) r 3 = ch 2 ch 2 -( 1 - indole ) r 3 = chohch 2 ( p - phenol ) antifungal activity of natural ( compound code 1 ), lactonic ( compound code 2 ), hydrogenated lactonic ( compound code 5 ) and hydrogenated natural ( compound code 4 ) sophorolipids the hydrogenated lactonic sophorolipids have antifungal activity , which were confirmed by experiment and observations . sophorolipid samples were dissolved in 5 % ethanol solution to a final concentration of 10 mg / ml that was used as a stock solution . the stock solution ( 100 μl ) was added into a 96 well microplate and serially diluted from 10 mg / ml to 0 . 0024 mg / ml using culture medium . after serial dilution , 80 μl of fresh culture medium and 20 μl of spore suspension were added to each well and the plates were incubated for 7 days . the minimum inhibitory concentration ( mic ) was determined to measure antifungal activity of sophorolipid - derived compounds . mic values for antifungal activity were determined by the absence of visible growth in the micro wells containing sophorolipid after 7 days of incubation . compounds of compound codes ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) were active against four pathogens , whereas compounds of compound codes ( 5 ) and ( 3 ) were active against three and two pathogens respectively . in several cases , hydrogenated sophorolipids showed comparable or better inhibition to fungal growth versus natural sophorolipids . the results are shown in table 3 . the sophorolipid esters have antifungal activity , which was confirmed by experiment and observations . sophorolipid samples were dissolved in 5 % ethanol solution to a final concentration of 10 mg / ml and used as a stock solution . the stock solution ( 100 μl ) was added into a 96 well microplate and serially diluted from 10 mg / ml to 0 . 0024 mg / ml using culture medium . after serial dilution , 80 μl of fresh culture medium and 20 μl of spore suspension were added to each well and the plates were incubated for 7 days . mic values were determined to measure antifungal activity of this family of sophorolipid derivatives . mic values for antifungal activity were determined by the absence of visible growth in the micro wells containing sophorolipid - derivatives after 7 days of incubation . these results show that methyl ( compound code 6 ) and butyl esters ( compound code 8 ) actively inhibited the growth of three pathogens while other esters ( compound codes 9 , 5 , 6 , and 8 ) are active against one of the pathogens . in several cases , sophorolipid esters showed comparable or better inhibition of fungal growth versus natural sophorolipids . the results are shown in table 4 . the ring - opened sl - amide derivatives have antifungal activity , which was confirmed by experiment and observations . sophorolipid samples were dissolved in 5 % ethanol solution to a final concentration of 10 mg / ml and used as a stock solution . the stock solution ( 100 μl ) was added into a 96 well microplate and serially diluted from 10 mg / ml to 0 . 0024 mg / ml using culture medium . after serial dilution , 80 μl of fresh culture medium and 20 μl of spore suspension were added to each well and the plates were incubated for 7 days . the mic was determined to measure antifungal activity of the sophorolipid - derivatives . mic values for antifungal activity were determined by absence of visible growth in micro wells containing sophorolipid derivatives after 7 days of incubation . among all sophorolipids screened for antifungal activity , the family of amide derivatives shows high activity against four pathogens . the results are shown in table 5 . the ring - opened sl - biogenic amide derivatives ( compound codes 26 to 32 ) have antifungal activity , which was confirmed by experiment and observations . sophorolipid samples were dissolved in distilled water to a final concentration of 10 mg / ml and used as a stock solution . the stock solution ( 100 μl ) was added into a 96 well microplate and serially diluted from 10 mg / ml to 0 . 0024 mg / ml using culture medium . after serial dilution , 80 μl of fresh culture medium and 20 μl of spore suspension were added to each well and the plates were incubated for 7 days . the mic was determined to measure antifungal activity of the sophorolipid - derivatives . mic values for antifungal activity were determined by absence of visible growth in micro wells containing sophorolipid derivatives after 7 days of incubation . among the sophorolipids screened for antifungal activity , sl - spermine , sl - histamine and sl - dopamine derivatives shows high activity against 13 , 16 and 15 pathogens , respectively . the results are shown in table 6 . antifungal activity of sl derivatives against downy and powdery mildew pathogens were test on 1 % ( agar , v / v ) water agar plates . fresh grapes leaves were surface sprayed with 0 . 5 ml solutions of sl compounds ( in water or in 5 % ethanol ) and air - dried for 30 minutes by leaving the lids off leaf containing petri dishes in the hood before inoculating the pathogen . grape leaves were inoculated with : i ) powdery mildew (˜ 5000 spores ) using the preval sprayer and air - dried for 30 min , ii ) downy mildew (˜ 5000 spores ) was inoculated using the spray bottle without drying . for powdery mildew , after incubations at 20 ° c . for a 12 hours photoperiod , leaves were observed at 10 , 14 , and 21 days post - inoculation ( dpi ) to determine the percentage of leaf area covered on a 0 - 10 scale ( 0 = 0 %, 10 = 100 %). downy mildew was rated at 6 dpi using the same scale and incubation conditions . the results are shown in table 7 . zoospore lysis activity : an in vitro assay was also conducted in the absence of the host leaves to test the effect of each chemical on zoospore viability . zoosporangia were harvested from above downy mildew pathogen and incubated in water for 30 min for germination of swimming zoospores . the zoospore suspensions were then incubated for 5 min with a dilution series of each compound or a water control . to quantify viability , two 10 μl droplets were then placed on a hemocytometer , and the number of swimming zoospores was counted in five grids per droplet . all data is presented as the percent of the average disease or viability for that treatment relative to the average untreated control . results of zoospore lysis by sl - derivatives showed that viability was completely lost when spores were treated with compounds codes 16 , 19 , and 20 at concentrations of 500 - 50 μg / ml . based on observations of intact dead zoospores and apparently lysed zoospores , preliminary evidence suggests that compound codes 16 , 19 , and 20 efficiently lyse zoospores ( fig1 ), while compound 15 is lethal with much less lysis . antifungal activity of sl derivatives on wheat stem rust pathogen , puccinia graminis f . sp . tritici in green house system five seeds of the highly susceptible wheat variety ‘ baart ’ were planted into 10 cm plastic pots containing a mixture of field soil and commercial greenhouse potting mix ( 1 : 1 , vol : vol ). these were grown in the greenhouse under supplemental lighting ( 16 h / day ) at a temperature regime of 25 ° c ./ 20 ° c . ( day : night ). plants were watered and fertilized as necessary to maintain optimal growth conditions . at 14 days after planting ( dap ), sl - derivatives were applied at two different application rates ( 1 or 10 mg / ml ) in the appropriate carrier solvent ( 5 % ethanol / water ) using a devilbiss atomizer pressurized to ˜ 100 kpa . three replicate pots were treated and the foliage was allowed to dry before returning to the greenhouse . at ˜ 24 hours after application of the compounds , urediniospores of puccinia graminis f . sp . tritici ( wheat stem rust , race qfcs ) were applied in a suspension of soltrol 170 using the aforementioned atomizer . the urediniospores had previously been kept at − 80 ° c . and were heat - shocked for 5 min at 42 ° c . prior to being suspended in the oil . following inoculation , the plants were placed in front of a fan for 15 min to expedite oil evaporation . once completed , plants were placed into an incubation chamber and incubated at 100 % relative humidity at 18 ° c . for 12 hours in the dark to induce spore germination and aspersorium formation . after the initial incubation period , plants were exposed to light , the temperature increased , and the dew was allowed to slowly evaporate from plants to stimulate the completion of the infection process . the plants were then returned to the greenhouse and maintained at the aforementioned conditions . at 14 days after inoculation , percent leaf area as pustules was visually rated on a minimum of three leaves per pot for all replicate pots . the results are shown in table 8 . with the exception of compound code 7 , all sl - compounds applied at a concentration of 10 mg / ml significantly reduced symptom development compared to the corresponding control ( table 6 ). treatments with compound codes 15 , 16 , and 1 at 10 mg / ml concentration inhibited symptom development by 65 %, 54 %, and 57 %, respectively . in summary , treatments with compound codes 15 , 16 , and 1 all limited symptom development of wheat stem rust . antifungal activity of sl derivatives on wheat stripe rust , rice blast , sheath blight , spinach downy mildew and white rust pathogens in green house system wheat , rice and spinach are major food and vegetable crops . wheat stripe rust , rice blast , sheath blight , spinach downy mildew and white rust are economically important diseases on these crops . pathogens used in this experiment are listed in table 9 . the plants were grown in greenhouse and inoculated at age 2 - weeks except for studies with spinach white rust where plants were inoculated at age 4 - weeks . the plants were treated with the test materials ( sophorolipid compounds , positive / negative controls ) and , after 24 h they were inoculated with the pathogen . positive controls consisted of plants treated only with water . inoculated plants were scored 1 - 2 weeks after inoculation for either disease incidence or severity depending on the test . the antimicrobial activity of compound codes 15 , 16 , 19 , and 20 presented in table 10 shows that each showed high activity ( between 79 and 95 % reduction in infection ) with all 5 of the pathogens tested at 10 mg / ml concentration . derivative compound code 5 also showed good activity ( 75 - 95 % reduction in infection ) with four of the five pathogens studied . bacterial infections in plants are much like the symptoms in fungal plant disease . examples are leaf spots , blights , wilts , scabs , cankers and soft rots of roots , storage organs and fruit , and overgrowth . to determine the antibacterial activity of sl - derivatives , 7 different plant pathogenic bacteria were used ( table 11 ). sophorolipid samples were dissolved in 5 % ethanol solution to a final concentration of 10 mg / ml that was used as a stock solution . the stock solution ( 100 μl ) was added into a 96 well microplate and serially diluted from 10 mg / ml to 0 . 0024 mg / ml using culture medium . after serial dilution , 80 μl of fresh culture medium and 20 μl of 24 hour grown bacterial culture were added to each well and the plates were incubated for 24 h at 37 ° c . antibacterial activity was determined by measuring the optical density ( od ) of micro wells containing sophorolipid and bacterial culture at 540 nm in a spectrophotometer . a control was maintained for each bacterial culture without adding sophorolipids into the culture medium . the difference in od between sl added wells and control was calculated and converted into % growth inhibition . the formula used for the calculation of %- growth inhibition is : [ control od − od of sl added wells / control od ]× 100 . among all sophorolipids screened for antibacterial activity , the family of amide derivatives shows high activity against all pathogens tested . the results are shown in table 11 . antibacterial activity of sophorolipid biogenic amides was tested using the micro - plate method as described in example 8 . compound codes 28 , 29 and 30 show the highest antibacterial activity than other sl - biogenic amides derivatives ( table 12 ). in the process of fungicidal or bactericidal pesticide development , formulation a plays major role by enhancing the performance of the active ingredients . sophorolipid derivatives developed in this invention showed promising antimicrobial activity against plant fungal and bacterial pathogens . to further investigate the antimicrobial activity of sophorolipid derivatives , formulation of sophorolipid derivatives was performed by dissolving the sophorolipid derivatives ( compound codes 1 to 32 ) (˜ 10 mg / ml or required quantity based on the assay ) in 5 % ( w / v ) polypropylene glycol and 5 % ( w / v ) tween 20 . polypropylene glycol and tween 20 was used in antimicrobial formulation and improved the performance of active ingredients . antifungal activity of formulated lactonic sophorolipid and sophorolipid esters revealed that formulation has increased the broad spectrum activity ( active against more number of pathogens ) and decreased the mic values of the formulated compounds than the unformulated compounds ( table 13 ). sophorolipid amides derivatives of compound codes 15 , 16 , 19 , and 20 were selected for formulation based on their antifungal activity results observed without formulation . after formulation the compounds become very active in terms of broad spectrum activity and 2 to 10 times reduction in their mic values ( table 14 ). sophorolipid biogenic amides derivatives of compound codes 28 and 30 were selected for formulation based on their antifungal activity results observed without formulation . after formulation the compounds become very active in terms of broad spectrum activity , example , compound code 28 was active against 13 pathogens before formulation and become active against 16 pathogens after formulation . for both the compounds a 2 to 10 times reduction in their mic values were observed ( table 15 ). this demonstrates that by using newly developed sophorolipid derivative compositions of matter that are hereby incorporated within this invention , enhanced activity relative to the natural sophorolipid mixture against plant pathogenic organisms was achieved . it is understood that modified sophorolipid analogs can be used in pure form , admixed with one or more derivatives , admixed with one or more natural sophorolipids . furthermore , two or more modifications described herein that are performed at different sites of the sl - molecule can be combined to create many permutations of the derivatives described herein . examples would be derivatives that are modified by : i ) hydrogenation of the carbon - carbon double bond and amidation at the carboxylate group , ii ) transalkylidination of the sl - lipid carbon - carbon double bond by reaction with methyl acrylate followed by amidation at the formed methyl ester moiety , iii ) amidation at the carboxylate and acetylation at the sophorose head group . these and all combinations of modifications described herein are incorporated within this invention . the above detailed description of the embodiments , and the examples , are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope and spirit of the invention , and its equivalents , as defined by the appended claims . one skilled in the art will recognize that many variations can be made to the invention disclosed in this specification without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . as a single example , one skilled in the art of organic synthesis can use combinations of synthetic techniques described herein to synthesize ring - opened sophorolipid amide derivatives in which the c ═ c double bond remains intact or is hydrogenated . felse , p . a . ; shah , v . ; chan , j . ; rao , k . j . ; gross , r . a ., “ sophorolipid biosynthesis by candida bombicola from industrial fatty acid residues .” enzyme and microbial technology , 40 ( 2 ), 316 - 323 ( 2007 ). azim , a ; shah , v . ; doncel , g . f . ; peterson , n . ; gao , w . ; gross , r . “ amino acid conjugated sophorolipids : a new family of biologically active functionalized glycolipids .” bioconjugate chemistry 17 ( 6 ): 1523 - 1529 ( 2006 ). zhang , l . ; somasundaran , p . ; singh , s . k . ; felse , a . p . ; gross , r . a . “ synthesis and interfacial properties of sophorolipid derivatives .” colloids and surfaces a : physicochem . eng . aspects ; 240 ; 75 - 82 ( 2004 ). singh , s . k . ; felse , a . p . ; nunez , a . ; foglia , t . a . ; gross , r . a . “ regioselective enzyme - catalyzed synthesis of sophorolipid esters , amides and multifunctional monomers .” j . org . chem . ; 68 ; 5466 - 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