Extended cultivation with multiple removal of BC pellicles is proposed herein as a new biosynthetic process for bacterial cellulose (BC). This method enhances the BC surface area by 5-11 times per unit volume of the growth medium, improving the economic efficiency of biosynthesis. The resultant BC gel-films were thin, transparent, and congruent. The degree of polymerization (DP) and elastic modulus (EM) depended on the number of BC pellicle removals, vessel shape, and volume. The quality of BC from removals II-III to VII was better than from removal I. The process scale-up of 1:40 by volume increased DP by 1.5 times and EM by 5 times. A fact was established that the symbiotic Medusomyces gisevii Sa-12 was adaptable to exhausted growth medium: the medium was able to biosynthesize BC for 60 days, while glucose ran low at 24 days. On extended cultivation, DP and EM were found to decline by 39-64% and 57-65%, respectively. The BC gel-films obtained upon removals I-VI were successfully trialed in experimental tension-free hernioplasty.
Keywords: bacterial cellulose; extended cultivation; hernioplasty; pellicle removal.