Synthesis and characterization of bacterial cellulose by Acetobacter xylinum ATCC 10245

Aims and Background back: Bacterial cellulose has properties such as higher elasticity, strength and biocompatibility and produced fibers are 100 times smaller than natural cellulose. It is applicable as three dimensional extracellular matrices for holding cells, controlling tissue structure and regulating cell activities. Bacterial cellulose was produced by Acetobacter xylinum ATCC 10245. Then Cellulose scaffold was synthesized and characterized. Microstructures, formed bonds and crystalline structure were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The fibers were synthesized with diameter of about 30 nm to 360 nm. Different pore sizes of more than one micron were observed. Fiber length was in micron scale. Thus microbial cellulose was quite finer in comparison with natural cellulose. Furthermore, the amount of synthesized bacterial cellulose was in direct relation with area of medium in contact with air. Considering the results and especially existence of micron scale pores, synthesized bacterial cellulose was quite applicable in tissue engineering.