Bacterial Nanocellulose: Synthesis, Properties and Applications

M. L. FORESTI; P. CERRUTTI; A. VAZQUEZ

Polymer nanocomposites based on inorganic and organic nanomateriales

Scrivener Publishing

Lugar: Beverly; Año: 2015; p. 39 - 61

Cellulose nanoparticles (i.e., cellulose elements having at least one dimension inthe 1?100 nm range) have received increasing attention during the last decade dueto their attractive properties, such as renewability, abundance and low cost of theraw material, large surface-to-volume ratio, high strength and stiffness, very lowcoefficient of thermal expansion, low weight, low density, and biodegradability.Cellulose nanoparticles of different aspect ratio can be obtained from lignocelluloseby different routes, such as acid hydrolysis or intensive mechanical treatment.On the other hand, in certain culture medium and under proper fermentationconditions it is now well-established that some bacteria can also secrete cellulosemicrofibrils as primary metabolite. Although it has the same molecular formula asplant cellulose, bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) is fundamentally different becauseof its nanofiber architecture, which confers it special properties. In the currentchapter, the synthesis, properties and applications of BNC will be described indetail.