BIOSYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND ECO-FRIENDLY MODIFICATION OF BACTERIAL NANOCELLULOSE AS POTENT ANTIMICROBIAL BIONANOCOMPOSITES FOR PACKAGING AND BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS

Abstract

Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) is a fascinating biomaterial with a three-dimensional structure formed by ultra-fine nanofibers of pure cellulose. It is synthesized extracellularly by a variety of acetic acid-producing bacterial strains. The Komagataeibacter genus is the best producer and the most studied genus in the BNC production field. The purity, high crystallinity, biocompatibility, morphological uniformity, remarkable mechanical and structural porous network properties of BNC lend themselves to applications in high margin markets, such as food packaging, tissue engineering, cosmetics, and medicine. BNC is emerging as a potential precursor of several breakthrough technologies of biomaterials sciences that offers an excellent opportunity to meet the recent trends in various field; however, high production costs, relatively low productivity, lack of antibacterial and antioxidant properties has limited the large-scale production of BNC and its capabilities in packaging and biomedical sectors. This study aimed to isolate and identify the novel and potent nanocellulose producing bacterial strains from natural biomass wastes, develop a cost-effective culture media using agro-industrial wastes, and modifications of BNC membranes to fabricate the eco-friendly and antimicrobial membranes using agriculture waste as a reducing and antimicrobial agent for selected industrial applications such as packaging and biomedical applications.