This paper reviews the research progress in the synthesis of N-acyl amino acid surfactants, including chemical synthesis methods, enzymatic synthesis methods, chemo-enzymatic methods, and fermentation methods. Chemical synthesis is currently the main route for laboratory and industrial synthesis, including methods such as direct dehydration condensation of fatty acids, amidation of fatty acid anhydrides, carbonyl addition of fatty amides, amidation of fatty acid activated esters, amidation of fatty acid methyl esters, amidation of oils and fats, hydrolysis of fatty nitriles, and Schotten–Baumann condensation. Enzymatic synthesis has the advantages of mild reaction conditions and being green and pollution-free, but the yield is relatively low. The chemo-enzymatic method combines the advantages of enzymatic and chemical methods, but it has not been widely promoted. Fermentation methods have low production costs and are environmentally friendly but the technology is not yet mature. This paper elaborates on the principles, advantages, and disadvantages of each synthesis method and provides an outlook on future research directions.
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