Compressive moduli of bacteria-synthesized cellulose (BC) were altered by two drying techniques: ambient-air drying and freeze drying. While no significant differences in dry weight were found, their cross-sectional structures and thickness varied greatly. Freeze dried BCs had loose cross-sectional structures and a thickness of ~4.7 mm, whereas air dried BCs had more compacted cross-sectional structures and a thickness of ~0.1mm. The compressive moduli of the rehydrated freeze dried and rehydrated air dried BCs were measured to be 21.06±0.22 kPa and 90.09±21.07 kPa, respectively. When rat mesenchymal stem cells (rMSCs) were seeded on these BCs, they maintained a round morphology in the first 3 days of cultivation. More spread-out morphology and considerable proliferation on freeze dried BCs were observed in 7 days, but not on air-dried BCs. The cells were further grown for 3 weeks in the absence and presence of differentiation agents. Without using any differentiation agents, no detectable differentiation was noticed for rMSCs further cultivated on both types of BC. With differentiation inducing agents, chondrogenic differentiation, visualized by histological staining, was observed in some area of the rehydrated freeze dried BCs; while osteogenic differentiation was noticed on the stiffer rehydrated air dried BCs.
Keywords: Bacterial cellulose; Compressive modulus; Contact mechanics; Mesenchymal stem cell.
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