Creation of bacterial cellulose-fabric complexed material

Abstract

The acetic acid bacterium Gluconacetobacter xylinus synthesizes a unique cellulose molecule called bacterial cellulose (BC) as an extracellular polysaccharide. The cellulose ribbons of BC are very fine and form a threedimensional knitted structure. To add properties to the surfaces of fabrics, we produced hybrid materials composed of BC and fabric by culturing G. xylinus with fabrics as scaffolds. Nine kinds of fabric were soaked in medium, and then G. xylinus was statically cultured with the fabric at 25 °C. After the cultivation, the fabrics were purified by alkaline treatment and press-dried. BC displayed greater affinity for cotton and viscose rayon than for wool, silk, nylon, polyester, and Kevlar® The surfaces of all fabrics were uniformly coated with a BC sheet and became shiny. However, when viscose rayon was used and the fabric was inverted during the cultivation process, both surfaces were coated with the BC sheet. It is suggested that the G. xylinus cells adhered to the surface of the fabric and produced BC in the vicinity of the air-water interface. During the inversion, the cells entered the interior of the fabric, and the resultant BC sheets surrounded each fabric.