Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC), a natural three dimensional nano-biomaterial fabricated via microbial fermentation with a fiber diameter around 14 nm, distinguishes itself from cellulose derived from other sources mainly by its purity, crystallinity, mechanical strength, three dimensionality, high water holding capacity,  and good biocompatibility. BNC has found many biomedical applications such as bioscaffolds in the repair and regeneration of skin, blood vessel, cornea, heart valve, urethra, nerve, bone, cartilage and knee menisci, as well as the delivery of drugs, hormones and proteins. A combined method was used to control the thickness of the BNC films. BNC was biosynthesized by Gluconacetobacter xylinus (ATCC53582) and modified with chitosan. The nano-composites of BNC and chitosan form a cohesive gel structure, and the cytotoxicity of the composite was low. A novel strain was used to reduce the production cost of BNC and accelerated the manufacturing process of BNC based wound dressings and antimicrobial wound healing products. With different oxygen availability and different biofabrication parameters, microbes can produce BNC in forms of hydrogels, which can be processed into different forms of films, tubes, spheres and nanocrystals. Incorporation of reactive functional groups and nanosilver particles into the polymer backbone via heterogeneous surface reactions is promising in drug delivery systems. From biosynthesized nanofibers using fermentation to synthesized nanofibers using micro/nano fabrication, my focuses aim to heal damaged skin tissues and also apply in other fields as tissue engineering and nanomedicine.

Fabrication and evaluation of nanofibrous biomaterials for biomedical applications

255th National Meeting (2018)

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