Property evaluations of dry-cast reconstituted bacterial cellulose/tamarind xyloglucan biocomposites

Abstract

We describe the mechanical defibrillation of bacterial cellulose (BC) followed by the dry-cast generation of reconstituted BC films (RBC). Xyloglucan (XGT), extracted from tamarind seeds, was incorporated into the defibrillated cellulose at various compositions, and new films were created using the same process. Microscopy and contact angle analyses of films revealed an increase in the microfibre adhesion, a reduced polydispersity in the diameters of the microfibrils and increased hydrophobic behaviour as a function of %XGT. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed changes to the crystallographic planes of the RBC and the biocomposite films with preferential orientation along the (110) plane. Compared with BC, RBC/XGT biocomposite with 10% XGT exhibited improvement in its thermal properties and in Young's modulus. These results indicated a reorganisation of the microfibres with mechanical treatment, which when combined with hydrocolloids, can create cellulose-based materials that could be applied as scaffolding for tissue engineering and drug release.

Physicochemical and in vitro biocompatibility of films combining reconstituted bacterial cellulose with arabinogalactan and xyloglucan

“…For all diffraction patterns using the cellulose matrix, three defined peaks were observed around the 2θangle 14.4 (100), 16.8 (0 1 0), and 22.8 (1 1 0), corresponding to the cellulose crystallographic planes according to the 1998; Sugiyama, Vuong, & Chanzy, 1991). The RBC CrI% value (75.9%) found was lower than that reported by Souza et al (2013), which was 89.67% for never-dried BC, and higher than the value (71%) presented by Watanabe et al (1998) for BC produced in agitated culture.…”

“…2. The SEM images showed a "network type" structure of all biocomposite films, similar to that observed in BCbased materials with different compositions (Liang, Zhang, & Xu, 2007;Woehl et al, 2010;de Souza et al, 2013). The images show that the RBC (Fig.…”

“…Based on the previous work of de Souza et al (2013) with some modifications, the scraps of commercial dry BC (Membracel®) were submitted to mechanical treatment and dispersed in ultrapure water (2 L) for 30 min using a blade mixer. The water excess was then extracted by vacuum filtration to produce a pulp.…”

“…By mixing or modifying several types of polysaccharides, it is possible to produce biocomposites with specific chemical groups to generate charged surfaces with variable hydrophilicity and wettability (de Souza et al, 2013). These modifications can be incorporated onto medical devices requiring pharmacological activity to anchor biologically active molecules.…”

“…Its inclusion on synthetic polymer matrices or in blends with other polysaccharides has been widely explored, leading to the production of several medical devices with modified mechanical and chemical properties (de Souza et al, 2013;Kadokawa, Murakami, Takegawa, & Kaneko, 2009;Woehl et al, 2014). Bacterial cellulose (BC), in particular, has been gaining importance in medical applications compared to other substrates containing synthetic polymers.…”