Bacterial cellulose: Biosynthesis, production, and applications

Vijayendran Raghavendran; Emmanuel Asare; Ipsita Roy

doi:10.1016/bs.ampbs.2020.07.002

Bacterial cellulose: Biosynthesis, production, and applications

Adv Microb Physiol. 2020:77:89-138. doi: 10.1016/bs.ampbs.2020.07.002. Epub 2020 Oct 1.

Authors

Vijayendran Raghavendran¹, Emmanuel Asare¹, Ipsita Roy²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Kroto Research Institute, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
² Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Kroto Research Institute, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom. Electronic address: I.Roy@sheffield.ac.uk.

PMID: 34756212
DOI: 10.1016/bs.ampbs.2020.07.002

Abstract

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a natural polymer produced by the acetic acid producing bacterium and has gathered much interest over the last decade for its biomedical and biotechnological applications. Unlike the plant derived cellulose nanofibres, which require pretreatment to deconstruct the recalcitrant lignocellulosic network, BC are 100% pure, and are extruded by cells as nanofibrils. Moreover, these nanofibrils can be converted to macrofibers that possess excellent material properties, surpassing even the strength of steel, and can be used as substitutes for fossil fuel derived synthetic fibers. The focus of the review is to present the fundamental long-term research on the influence of environmental factors on the organism's BC production capabilities, the production methods that are available for scaling up/scaled-up processes, and its use as a bulk commodity or for biomedical applications.

Keywords: Bacterial cellulose; Biomedical applications; Biopolymer; Bioremediation; Cellulose synthesis; Functionalization; Nanofibres; Superabsorbent.