Bacterial cellulose: Nature's greener tool for industries

Abstract

Bacteria are considered mini chemical factories that help us in providing a wide range of products for various purposes. These days, bacterial cellulose (BC) is getting attention by researchers due to its quality, eco‐friendly nature, and excellent physical‐mechanical qualities. It is being used in the fabrication of nanocomposites. Its nanocomposites can be used in various industries, including medicine, food, leather, textiles, environment, electronics, and cosmetics. This area of research is emerging and still in its infancy stage, as new applications are still coming up. Most of the work on BC has been done during the last two decades and serious inputs are required in this direction in order to make the production process commercially viable and ultimately the application part. Biowastes, such as fruits and vegetables wastes, can be used as a cost‐effective medium to minimize the cost for large‐scale production of BC‐based nanocomposites thus will valorize the biowaste material into a valuable product. Using biowaste as media will also aid in better waste management along with reduction in detrimental environmental effects. This review will help the readers to understand the potential applications of BC and its nanocomposites as well as their vital role in our daily lives.

Ecologically Modified Leather of Bacterial Origin

“…Additionally, from a physical point of view, the web-shaped sequence of monomeric units linked by β-1,4-glycosidic bonds might contribute to a high mechanical strength, an elevated degree of polymerisation, an increased crystallinity index (80–90%), tensile strength, and water-holding capacity compared to plant cellulose [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. Therefore, BC fits not only biomedical solutions (e.g., for wound healing [ 23 ], antibacterial coatings [ 24 , 25 ], controlled drug delivery [ 26 ], cancer treatment [ 27 ], tissue engineering [ 28 ], and cell cultures [ 29 ]) but also finds some bulk applications [ 19 ], e.g., in the textile industries [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. Consequently, selected technological solutions involving the use of bacterial cellulose in the textile and leather industries are presented below.…”

“…Firstly, the review carried out by Katyal et al [ 30 ] showed that the use of BC in textile and footwear manufacturing is an innovative concept that avoids the use of animal skins and nonbiodegradable toxic materials. Based on various examples, BC exhibited the same elasticity and mechanical strength as animal skins commonly used in the footwear industry.…”