One-Step Production of Amphiphilic Nanofibrillated Cellulose Using a Cellulose-Producing Bacterium

• Published in: Biomacromolecules Vol. 18; no. 10; pp. 3432 - 3438
• Main Authors: Tajima, Kenji, Kusumoto, Ryo, Kose, Ryota, Kono, Hiroyuki, Matsushima, Tokuo, Isono, Takuya, Yamamoto, Takuya, Satoh, Toshifumi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 09.10.2017
• Subjects: Acetone - chemistry; Alcohols - chemistry; Cellulose - analogs & derivatives; Cellulose - biosynthesis; Gluconacetobacter - metabolism; Nanofibers - chemistry; Polymethyl Methacrylate - chemistry; Solvents - chemistry; Surface-Active Agents - chemistry
• ISSN: 1525-7797; 1526-4602
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.7b01100

Nanofibrillated bacterial cellulose (NFBC) is produced by culturing a cellulose-producing bacterium (Gluconacetobacter intermedius NEDO-01) with rotation or agitation in medium supplemented with carboxymethylcellulose (CMC). Despite a high yield and dispersibility in water, the product immediately aggregates in organic solvents. To broaden its applicability, we prepared amphiphilic NFBC by culturing strain NEDO-01 in medium supplemented with hydroxyethylcellulose or hydroxypropylcellulose instead of CMC. Transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed that the resultant materials (HE-NFBC and HP-NFBC, respectively) comprised relatively uniform fibers with diameters of 33 ± 7 and 42 ± 8 nm, respectively. HP-NFBC was dispersible in polar organic solvents such as methanol, acetone, isopropyl alcohol, acetonitrile, tetrahydrofuran (THF), and dimethylformamide, and was also dispersible in poly­(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) by solvent mixing using THF. HP-NFBC/PMMA composite films were highly transparent and had a higher tensile strength than neat PMMA film. Thus, HP-NFBC has a broad range of applications, including as a filler material.