Emulsion-stabilizing Effect of Bacterial Cellulose

Abstract

The bacterial cellulose produced in an agitated culture (Ag-BC) showed the highest emulsion-stabilizing effect among the examined cellulosic materials. It was clarified that a mechanical barrier and a scaffolding structure composed of fine fibrils of bacterial cellulose interrupted the coalescence of oil droplets to stabilize the emulsion without reducing the interfacial tension as occurred with sorbitan monolaurate. Since Ag-BC consists of thinner fibrils and smaller floes than any other cellulosic material, Ag-BC would cover a larger surface area of the oil droplet as a mechanical barrier. The emulsion containing Ag-BC was stable against the addition of salt, and changes in pH and temperature in comparison with xanthan gum and sorbitan monolaurate. This stability would have been due to the stability of the mechanical barrier and a scaffolding structure composed of stable crystalline cellulose. In contrast, instability in the conformation of xanthan gum and a reduction in the interfacial tension of the surfactant would lead to instability of the emulsion.

Research Progress in Production of Bacterial Cellulose by Aeration and Agitation Culture and Its Application as a New Industrial Material

“…66 -68) In these applications for food, the bacterial cellulose from agitated culture has a much higher emulsifying effect than that from static culture. 69 ) The bacterial cellulose has been begun to be investigated as a new functional material in fields as diverse as medical supplies 64 . 70.…”

Strength and barrier properties of MFC films

“…Several recent publications demonstrate how MFC can be utilized for various purposes, e.g. in nanocomposites (Nakagaito and Yano 2005;Bruce et al 2005;Malainine et al 2005;López-Rubio et al 2007), as dispersion stabilizers (Oza and Frank 1986;Ougiya et al 1997;Khopade and Jain 1990;Andresen and Stenius 2007), and as antimicrobial films ). However, little has been reported about the use of MFC in paper applications or the properties of pure MFC films.…”

Rheological Studies of Microfibrillar Cellulose Water Dispersions

“…Several recent publications demonstrate how MFC can be used for various purposes within material technology, such as; reinforcement in nanocomposites [4,7,10,11] dispersion stabilizers [12][13][14][15], antimicrobial films [16], filtration media [17] and oxygen barrier material in food and pharmaceutical applications [18].…”