Biofilms are the main life style of bacteria. Despite these systems have been often associated to refractory infections, biofilms could offer a source of valuable materials. Some bacteria are able to produce modified cellulose (phosphoethanolamine cellulose) as part of the protective biofilms they build in challenging environments. Yet, no insights into the modification pattern of cellulose and its impact on biofilm formation exist since the isolation and purification from the microbial matrix are extremely difficult.<br/>We aim to elucidate the role of phosphoethanolamine cellulose in biofilms, using synthetic oligosaccharides. These compounds are ideal standards to characterize natural-sourced materials and deepen the chemical characterization of <i>E.coli </i>biofilms. A collection of well-defined phosphoethanolamine celluloses are prepared with automated glycan assembly (AGA) and used to shed light on how the modification patterns affect the structure and properties of biofilm. These compounds are currently analyzed to establish correlations between their chemical structure and the biofilm properties.

Learning from bacteria to produce novel cellulose-based materials

ACS Fall 2021

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