Sample records for bacterial microcrystalline cellulose

  1. Comparison of microcrystalline characterization results from oil palm midrib alpha cellulose using different delignization method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yuliasmi, S.; Pardede, T. R.; Nerdy; Syahputra, H.

    2017-03-01

    Oil palm midrib is one of the waste generated by palm plants containing 34.89% cellulose. Cellulose has the potential to produce microcrystalline cellulose can be used as an excipient in tablet formulations by direct compression. Microcrystalline cellulose is the result of a controlled hydrolysis of alpha cellulose, so the alpha cellulose extraction process of oil palm midrib greatly affect the quality of the resulting microcrystalline cellulose. The purpose of this study was to compare the microcrystalline cellulose produced from alpha cellulose extracted from oil palm midrib by two different methods. Fisrt delignization method uses sodium hydroxide. Second method uses a mixture of nitric acid and sodium nitrite, and continued with sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfite. Microcrystalline cellulose obtained by both method was characterized separately, including organoleptic test, color reagents test, dissolution test, pH test and determination of functional groups by FTIR. The results was compared with microcrystalline cellulose which has been available on the market. The characterization results showed that microcrystalline cellulose obtained by first method has the most similar characteristics to the microcrystalline cellulose available in the market.

  2. Processing and characterization of polyols plasticized-starch reinforced with microcrystalline cellulose.

    PubMed

    Rico, M; Rodríguez-Llamazares, S; Barral, L; Bouza, R; Montero, B

    2016-09-20

    Biocomposites suitable for short-life applications such as food packaging were prepared by melt processing and investigated. Biocomposites studied are wheat starch plasticized with two different molecular weight polyols (glycerol and sorbitol) and reinforced with various amounts of microcrystalline cellulose. The effect of the plasticizer type and the filler amount on the processing properties, the crystallization behavior and morphology developed for the materials, and the influence on thermal stability, dynamic mechanical properties and water absorption behavior were investigated. Addition of microcrystalline cellulose led to composites with good filler-matrix adhesion where the stiffness and resistance to humidity absorption were improved. The use of sorbitol as a plasticizer of starch also improved the stiffness and water uptake behavior of the material as well as its thermal stability. Biodegradable starch-based materials with a wide variety of properties can be tailored by varying the polyol plasticizer type and/or by adding microcrystalline cellulose filler. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Spherical composite particles of rice starch and microcrystalline cellulose: a new coprocessed excipient for direct compression.

    PubMed

    Limwong, Vasinee; Sutanthavibul, Narueporn; Kulvanich, Poj

    2004-03-12

    Composite particles of rice starch (RS) and microcrystalline cellulose were fabricated by spray-drying technique to be used as a directly compressible excipient. Two size fractions of microcrystalline cellulose, sieved (MCS) and jet milled (MCJ), having volumetric mean diameter (D50) of 13.61 and 40.51 microm, respectively, were used to form composite particles with RS in various mixing ratios. The composite particles produced were evaluated for their powder and compression properties. Although an increase in the microcrystalline cellulose proportion imparted greater compressibility of the composite particles, the shape of the particles was typically less spherical with rougher surface resulting in a decrease in the degree of flowability. Compressibility of composite particles made from different size fractions of microcrystalline cellulose was not different; however, using MCJ, which had a particle size range close to the size of RS (D50 = 13.57 microm), provided more spherical particles than using MCS. Spherical composite particles between RS and MCJ in the ratio of 7:3 (RS-MCJ-73) were then evaluated for powder properties and compressibility in comparison with some marketed directly compressible diluents. Compressibility of RS-MCJ-73 was greater than commercial spray-dried RS (Eratab), coprocessed lactose and microcrystalline cellulose (Cellactose), and agglomerated lactose (Tablettose), but, as expected, lower than microcrystalline cellulose (Vivapur 101). Flowability index of RS-MCJ-73 appeared to be slightly lower than Eratab but higher than Vivapur 101, Cellactose, and Tablettose. Tablets of RS-MCJ-73 exhibited low friability and good self-disintegrating property. It was concluded that these developed composite particles could be introduced as a new coprocessed direct compression excipient.

  4. Sensing the Structural Differences in Cellulose from Apple and Bacterial Cell Wall Materials by Raman and FT-IR Spectroscopy

    PubMed Central

    Szymańska-Chargot, Monika; Cybulska, Justyna; Zdunek, Artur

    2011-01-01

    Raman and Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was used for assessment of structural differences of celluloses of various origins. Investigated celluloses were: bacterial celluloses cultured in presence of pectin and/or xyloglucan, as well as commercial celluloses and cellulose extracted from apple parenchyma. FT-IR spectra were used to estimate of the Iβ content, whereas Raman spectra were used to evaluate the degree of crystallinity of the cellulose. The crystallinity index (XCRAMAN%) varied from −25% for apple cellulose to 53% for microcrystalline commercial cellulose. Considering bacterial cellulose, addition of xyloglucan has an impact on the percentage content of cellulose Iβ. However, addition of only xyloglucan or only pectins to pure bacterial cellulose both resulted in a slight decrease of crystallinity. However, culturing bacterial cellulose in the presence of mixtures of xyloglucan and pectins results in an increase of crystallinity. The results confirmed that the higher degree of crystallinity, the broader the peak around 913 cm−1. Among all bacterial celluloses the bacterial cellulose cultured in presence of xyloglucan and pectin (BCPX) has the most similar structure to those observed in natural primary cell walls. PMID:22163913

  5. Preparation and Characterization of Cellulose Microcrystalline (MCC) from Fiber of Empty Fruit Bunch Palm Oil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nasution, H.; Yurnaliza; Veronicha; Irmadani; Sitompul, S.

    2017-03-01

    Alpha cellulose which was isolated from cellulose of fiber empty fruit bunch palm oil was hidrolized with hydrochloric acid (2,5N) at 80°C to produce microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). Microcrystalline cellulose is an important additional ingredient in the pharmaceutical, food, cosmetics, and structural composites. In this study, MCC, alpha cellulose, and cellulose were characterized and thereafter were compared. Characterizations were made using some equipment such as x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetry analyzer (TGA). X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy were studied to determine crystallinity and molecular structure of MCC, where scanning electron microscopy images were conducted for information about morfology of MCC. Meanwhile, thermal resistance of MCC was determined using thermogravimetry analyzer (TGA). From XRD and FTIR, the obtained results showed that the crystalline part was traced on MCC, where the -OH and C-O groups tended to reduced as alpha cellulose has changed to MCC. From SEM the image showed the reduction of particle size of MCC, while the thermal resistance of MCC was found lower as compared with cellulose and alpha cellulose as well, which was attributed to the lower molecular weight of MCC.

  6. Surface Photochemistry: 3,3′-Dialkylthia and Selenocarbocyanine Dyes Adsorbed onto Microcrystalline Cellulose

    PubMed Central

    Vieira Ferreira, Luís F.; Ferreira, Diana P.; Duarte, Paulo; Oliveira, A. S.; Torres, E.; Machado, I. Ferreira; Almeida, P.; Reis, Lucinda V.; Santos, Paulo F.

    2012-01-01

    In this work, thia and selenocarbocyanines with n-alkyl chains of different length, namely with methyl, ethyl, propyl, hexyl and decyl substituents, were studied in homogeneous and heterogeneous media for comparison purposes. For both carbocyanine dyes adsorbed onto microcrystalline cellulose, a remarkable increase in the fluorescence quantum yields and lifetimes were detected, when compared with solution. Contrary to the solution behaviour, where the increase in the n-alkyl chains length increases to a certain extent the fluorescence emission ΦF and τF, on powdered solid samples a decrease of ΦF and τF was observed. The use of an integrating sphere enabled us to obtain absolute ΦF’s for all the powdered samples. The main difference for liquid homogeneous samples is that the increase of the alkyl chain strongly decreases the ΦF values, both for thiacarbocyanines and selenocarbocyanines. A lifetime distribution analysis for the fluorescence of these dyes adsorbed onto microcrystalline cellulose, evidenced location on the ordered and crystalline part of the substrate, as well as on the more disordered region where the lifetime is smaller. The increase of the n-alkyl chains length decreases the photoisomer emission for the dyes adsorbed onto microcrystalline cellulose, as detected for high fluences of the laser excitation, for most samples. PMID:22312274

  7. Isolation and characterization of nanocrystalline cellulose from roselle-derived microcrystalline cellulose.

    PubMed

    Kian, Lau Kia; Jawaid, Mohammad; Ariffin, Hidayah; Karim, Zoheb

    2018-07-15

    Roselle fiber is a renewable and sustainable agricultural waste enriched with cellulose polysaccharides. The isolation of Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) from roselle-derived microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) is an alternative approach to recover the agricultural roselle plant residue. In the present study, acid hydrolysis with different reaction time was carried out to degrade the roselle-derived MCC to form NCC. The characterizations of isolated NCC were conducted through Fourier Transform Infrared Ray (FTIR), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). As evaluated from the performed morphological investigations, the needle-like shape NCC nanostructures were observed under TEM and AFM microscopy studies, while irregular rod-like shape of NCC was observed under FESEM analysis. With 60min hydrolysis time, XRD analysis demonstrated the highest NCC crystallinity degree with 79.5%. In thermal analysis by TGA and DSC, the shorter hydrolysis time tended to produce NCC with higher thermal stability. Thus, the isolated NCC from roselle-derived MCC has high potential to be used in application of pharmaceutical and biomedical fields for nanocomposite fabrication. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Water-in-oil Pickering emulsions stabilized by stearoylated microcrystalline cellulose.

    PubMed

    Pang, Bo; Liu, Huan; Liu, Peiwen; Peng, Xinwen; Zhang, Kai

    2018-03-01

    Hydrophobic particles with static water contact angles larger than 90° are more like to stabilize W/O Pickering emulsions. In particular, high internal phase Pickering emulsions (HIPEs) are of great interest for diverse applications. However, W/O HIPEs have rarely been realized using sustainable biopolymers. Herein, we used stearoylated microcrystalline cellulose (SMCC) to stabilize W/O Pickering emulsions and especially, W/O HIPEs. Moreover, these W/O HIPEs can be further used as platforms for the preparation of porous materials, such as porous foams. Stearoylated microcrystalline cellulose (SMCC) was prepared by modifying MCC with stearoyl chloride under heterogeneous conditions. Using SMCC as emulsifiers, W/O medium and high internal phase Pickering emulsions (MIPEs and HIPEs) with various organic solvents as continuous phases were prepared using one-step and two-step methods, respectively. Polystyrene (PS) foams were prepared after polymerization of oil phase using HIPEs as templates and their oil/water separation capacity were studied. SMCC could efficiently stabilize W/O Pickering emulsions and HIPEs could only be prepared via the two-step method. The internal phase volume fraction of the SMCC-stabilized HIPEs reached as high as 89%. Diverse internal phase volume fractions led to distinct inner structures of foams with closed or open cells. These macroporous polystyrene (PS) foams demonstrated great potential for the effective absorption of organic solvents from underwater. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Visible light activated TiO2/microcrystalline cellulose nanocatalyst to destroy organic contaminants in water.

    EPA Science Inventory

    Hybrid TiO2/microcrystalline cellulose (MC) nanophotocatalyst was prepared in situ by a facile and simple synthesis utilizing benign precursors such as MC and TiCl4. The as-prepared nanocomposite was characterized by XRD, XPS, BET surface area analyzer, UV–vis DRS and TGA. Surfac...

  10. The Solubility of Microcrystalline Cellulose in Sodium Hydroxide Solution Is Inconsistent with International Specifications.

    PubMed

    Kodama, Hanayo; Tamura, Yoshinaga; Kamei, Ichiro; Sato, Kyoko; Akiyama, Hiroshi

    2017-01-01

    Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) is used globally as an inactive ingredient in food and nutraceutical products and is commonly used as a food additive. To confirm the conformity of MCC to the solubility requirements stipulated in international specifications, the solubilities of commercially available MCC products were tested in sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution. All of the samples were insoluble in NaOH solution, which is inconsistent with the descriptions provided in international specifications. We also prepared celluloses with different degree of polymerization (DP) values by acid hydrolysis. Celluloses with lower DP were prepared using a three-step process, and their solubilities were tested in NaOH solution. These celluloses were found to be insoluble, which is inconsistent with the descriptions provided in international specifications. The present study suggests that the descriptions of the solubility of the celluloses in NaOH solution found in the current international specifications should be revised.

  11. Physical and structural properties of polyaniline/microcrystalline cellulose nanocomposite

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abdi, Mahnaz M.; Liyana, Rawaida; Tahir, Paridah Md; Heng, Lee Yook; Sulaiman, Yusran; Waheeda, Nur Farhana; Hassan, Nabihah Abu

    2017-12-01

    A composite of Polyaniline/Microcrystalline Cellulose (PAni/MCC) was prepared via a chemical polymerization method in the presence of ammonium persulfate (NH4)2S2O8 as oxidant and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as a cationic surfactant. The results of FESEM showed that the morphology of nanocomposite depends on the monomer concentration. Wire-like and porous nanostructure was observed for PAni/MCC/CTAB composite that could be suitable for enzyme immobilization and sensor applications. The electrochemical properties of the composites were studied using Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) and it was shown that PAni/MCC/CTAB composite generated a higher current response compared to the pure PAni. The synergy effect of MCC and CTAB on the physical and electrochemical properties of composite resulted in higher electron transferring in PAni/MCC/CTAB. The presence of significant peaks of PAni and MCC in FT-IR spectrum of nanocomposite indicating polymerization of aniline on the surface of MCC. Characteristic peaks of crystalline cellulose were observed at 22.8 and 14.7 2theta in XRD pattern.

  12. [A study of the properties of tablets from mixtures of two size degrees of alpha-lactose monohydrate and microcrystalline cellulose].

    PubMed

    Muzíková, J

    2006-03-01

    The paper examines the strength and disintegration time of compacts from the mixtures of two types of Tablettosas. Tablettosa 70 and Tablettosa 100 with microcrystalline cellulose represented by Vivapur 102. The mixtures of dry binders were prepared in the ratios of 3:1, 1:1, and 1:3. The effect of two concentrations of the lubricant magnesium stearate on the strength and disintegration time of compacts was also examined. Tablet strength increased with higher representation of microcrystalline cellulose in the mixture, and decreased with higher stearate concentration. The compacts from the mixtures with Tablettosa 100 showed higher strength. Disintegration time was highest in the compacts with the largest perccintage of microcrystalline cellulose, and longer in the case of the mixtures with Tablettosa 100. Stearate did not exert a negative effect on disintegration time. In the mixtures of Tablettosas with Vivapur 102 in a ratio of 1:1, the effect of the model active ingredient acetylsalicylic acid on the above-mentioned properties of tablets was tested. acetylsalicylic acid produced a further decrease in the strength of compacts and shortened the disintegration time in more instances in the cased of the mixtures with Tahlettosa 100.

  13. Impact of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) on functional characteristics of emulsified sausages.

    PubMed

    Schuh, Valerie; Allard, Karin; Herrmann, Kurt; Gibis, Monika; Kohlus, Reinhard; Weiss, Jochen

    2013-02-01

    Inclusion of fibers, such as carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), at the expense of fat or protein in meat batters could be used to produce healthier sausages while lowering production costs. To study the impact of CMC/MCC on structural/functional characteristics of emulsified sausages, standard-fat Lyoner-style sausages were formulated with CMC/MCC at concentrations of 0.3-2.0%. Methods of analysis included rheology, water binding capacity (WBC), texture measurements, and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM). WBC, texture measurements, and rheology all indicated that addition of CMC (>0.7%) led to destabilization of the batter, which upon heating could no longer be converted into a coherent protein network, a fact that was also revealed in CLSM images. In contrast, MCC was highly compatible with the matrix and improved firmness (1405-1651N/100g) with increasing concentration compared to control (1381N/100g) while keeping WBC (4.6-5.9%) with <2% MCC at the level of the control (4.8%). Results were discussed in terms of molecular interactions of meat proteins with celluloses. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Facile synthesis of TiO2/microcrystalline cellulose nanocomposites: photocatalytically active material under visible light irradiation

    EPA Science Inventory

    Doped TiO2 nanocomposites were prepared in situ by a facile and simple synthesis utilizing benign and renewable precursors such as microcrystalline cellulose (MC) and TiCl4 through hydrolysis in alkaline medium without the addition of organic solvents. The as-prepared nanocompos...

  15. Application of ethyl cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose and octadecanol for wax based floating solid dispersion pellets.

    PubMed

    Yan, Hong-Xiang; Zhang, Shuang-Shuang; He, Jian-Hua; Liu, Jian-Ping

    2016-09-05

    The present study aimed to develop and optimize the wax based floating sustained-release dispersion pellets for a weakly acidic hydrophilic drug protocatechuic acid to achieve prolonged gastric residence time and improved bioavailability. This low-density drug delivery system consisted of octadecanol/microcrystalline cellulose mixture matrix pellet cores prepared by extrusion-spheronization technique, coated with drug/ethyl cellulose 100cp solid dispersion using single-step fluid-bed coating method. The formulation-optimized pellets could maintain excellent floating state without lag time and sustain the drug release efficiently for 12h based on non-Fickian transport mechanism. Observed by SEM, the optimized pellet was the dispersion-layered spherical structure containing a compact inner core. DSC, XRD and FTIR analysis revealed drug was uniformly dispersed in the amorphous molecule form and had no significant physicochemical interactions with the polymer dispersion carrier. The stability study of the resultant pellets further proved the rationality and integrity of the developed formulation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Preparation of acetylated nanofibrillated cellulose from corn stalk microcrystalline cellulose and its reinforcing effect on starch films.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Li; Zhang, Dongli; Gu, Zhengbiao; Li, Zhaofeng; Hong, Yan; Li, Caiming

    2018-05-01

    Acetylated nanofibrillated cellulose (ANFC) with different degrees of substitution (DS) was prepared from corn-stalk microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) using chemical-mechanical combined processes. The physicochemical properties of nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) and ANFC were investigated together with the influence of added nanoparticles on the mechanical properties of starch films. The acetylation reaction was monitored by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and titration. Particle size and morphological of NFC and ANFC were studied by atomic force microscope (AFM). The results suggested that NFC had nano-order-unit web-like network with mean diameter of ~24 nm. The thermostability of all samples was found to decrease as the modification extent rose, and mechanical disposal revealed no significant influence on the DS and crystalline structure of cellulose. The ANFC with the DS value of 0.35 demonstrated the best enhancement effect on starch films, with increased tension strength (TS) by 201%. The tensile tests confirmed that the web-like network structure of NFC was more conducive to strength, and proper chemical modification could improve the uniform dispersion of nano-fillers in starch to result in higher strength performances. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Influence of alkaline hydrogen peroxide pre-hydrolysis on the isolation of microcrystalline cellulose from oil palm fronds.

    PubMed

    Owolabi, Abdulwahab F; Haafiz, M K Mohamad; Hossain, Md Sohrab; Hussin, M Hazwan; Fazita, M R Nurul

    2017-02-01

    In the present study, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was isolated from oil palm fronds (OPF) using chemo-mechanical process. Wherein, alkaline hydrogen peroxide (AHP) was utilized to extract OPF fibre at different AHP concentrations. The OPF pulp fibre was then bleached with acidified sodium chlorite solution followed by the acid hydrolysis using hydrochloric acid. Several analytical methods were conducted to determine the influence of AHP concentration on thermal properties, morphological properties, microscopic and crystalline behaviour of isolated MCC. Results showed that the MCC extracted from OPF fibres had fibre diameters of 7.55-9.11nm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses revealed that the obtained microcrystalline fibre had both celluloses I and cellulose II polymorphs structure, depending on the AHP concentrations. The Fourier transmission infrared (FTIR) analyses showed that the AHP pre-hydrolysis was successfully removed hemicelluloses and lignin from the OPF fibre. The crystallinity of the MCC was increased with the AHP concentrations. The degradation temperature of MCC was about 300°C. The finding of the present study showed that pre-treatment process potentially influenced the quality of the isolation of MCC from oil palm fronds. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Dielectric barrier discharge plasma pretreatment on hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Fangmin; Long, Zhouyang; Liu, Sa; Qin, Zhenglong

    2017-04-01

    Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma was used as a pretreatment method for downstream hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). The degree of polymerization (DP) of MCC decreased after it was pretreated by DBD plasma under a carrier gas of air/argon. The effectiveness of depolymerization was found to be influenced by the crystallinity of MCC when under the pretreatment of DBD plasma. With the addition of tert-butyl alcohol in the treated MCC water suspension solution, depolymerization effectiveness of MCC was inhibited. When MCC was pretreated by DBD plasma for 30 min, the total reducing sugar concentration (TRSC) and liquefaction yield (LY) of pretreated-MCC (PMCC) increased by 82.98% and 34.18% respectively compared with those for raw MCC.

  19. Functionality and nutritional aspects of microcrystalline cellulose in food.

    PubMed

    Nsor-Atindana, John; Chen, Maoshen; Goff, H Douglas; Zhong, Fang; Sharif, Hafiz Rizwan; Li, Yue

    2017-09-15

    Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) is among the most commonly used cellulose derivatives in the food industry. In order assess the recent advances of MCC in food product development and its associated nutraceutical implications, google scholar and database of journals subscribed by Jiangnan university, China were used to source literature. Recently published research articles that reported physicochemical properties of MCC for food application or potential application in food and nutraceutical functions were reviewed and major findings outlined. The selected literature reviewed demonstrated that the material has been extensively explored as a functional ingredient in food including meat products, emulsions, beverages, dairy products, bakery, confectionary and filling. The carbohydrate polymer also has many promising applications in functional and nutraceutical food industries. Though widely used as control for many dietary fiber investigations, MCC has been shown to provide positive effects on gastrointestinal physiology, and hypolipidemic effects, influencing the expression of enzymes involved in lipid metabolism. These techno-functional and nutraceutical properties of MCC are influenced by the physicochemical of the material, which are defined by the raw material source and processing conditions. Apart from these functional properties, this review also highlighted limitations and gaps regarding the application of material in food and nutritional realms. Functional, Nutritional and health claims of MCC. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. A study of a novel coprocessed dry binder composed of α-lactose monohydrate, microcrystalline cellulose and corn starch.

    PubMed

    Mužíková, Jitka; Srbová, Alena; Svačinová, Petra

    2017-12-01

    This paper deals with a study of the novel coprocessed dry binder Combilac®, which contains 70% of α-lactose monohydrate, 20% of microcrystalline cellulose and 10% of native corn starch. These tests include flow properties, compressibility, lubricant sensitivity, tensile strength and disintegration time of tablets. Compressibility is evaluated by means of the energy profile of compression process, test of stress relaxation and tablet strength. The above-mentioned parameters are also evaluated in the physical mixture of α-lactose monohydrate, microcrystalline cellulose and native corn starch and compared with Combilac. Combilac shows much better flowability than the physical mixture of the used dry binders. Its compressibility is better, tablets possess a higher tensile strength. Neither Combilac, nor the physical mixture can be compressed without lubricants due to high friction and sticking to the matrix. Combilac has a higher lubricant sensitivity than the physical mixture of the dry binders. Disintegration time of Combilac tablets is comparable with the disintegration time of tablets made from the physical mixture.

  1. Improved enzymatic hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel PH101) by polyethylene glycol addition.

    PubMed

    Ouyang, Jia; Dong, Zhenwei; Song, Xiangyang; Lee, Xin; Chen, Mu; Yong, Qiang

    2010-09-01

    The effects of additives on hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel PH101) were examined using commercial cellulose-degrading enzymes (Celluclast 1.5L and Novozyme 188). Polyethylene glycol 4000 (PEG4000) was the most effective additive tested. When PEG4000 was added at 0.05 g/g glucan, the conversion of Avicel PH101 increased 91% (from 41.1% to 78.9%). The cellulase activity of Celluclast 1.5L increased 27.5% with PEG4000 addition. A positive effect on enzyme stabilities of Celluclast 1.5L and Novozyme 188 also occurred with PEG4000 addition. During hydrolysis process, significant changes in free protein concentration and cellulase activity were observed on Avicel PH101. More than 90% of the original enzyme activity remained in the solution after 48 h hydrolysis. Thus, PEG4000 addition is an efficient method to enhance digestibility of cellulosic materials and make enzyme recovery possible and valuable. This provides an opportunity of decreasing the operational cost of the hydrolysis process. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Palladium-bacterial cellulose membranes for fuel cells.

    PubMed

    Evans, Barbara R; O'Neill, Hugh M; Malyvanh, Valerie P; Lee, Ida; Woodward, Jonathan

    2003-07-01

    Bacterial cellulose is a versatile renewable biomaterial that can be used as a hydrophilic matrix for the incorporation of metals into thin, flexible, thermally stable membranes. In contrast to plant cellulose, we found it catalyzed the deposition of metals within its structure to generate a finely divided homogeneous catalyst layer. Experimental data suggested that bacterial cellulose possessed reducing groups capable of initiating the precipitation of palladium, gold, and silver from aqueous solution. Since the bacterial cellulose contained water equivalent to at least 200 times the dry weight of the cellulose, it was dried to a thin membranous structure suitable for the construction of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs). Results of our study with palladium-cellulose showed that it was capable of catalyzing the generation of hydrogen when incubated with sodium dithionite and generated an electrical current from hydrogen in an MEA containing native cellulose as the polyelectrolyte membrane (PEM). Advantages of using native and metallized bacterial cellulose membranes in an MEA over other PEMs such as Nafion 117 include its higher thermal stability to 130 degrees C and lower gas crossover.

  3. Characterization of Bacterial Cellulose by Gluconacetobacter hansenii CGMCC 3917.

    PubMed

    Feng, Xianchao; Ullah, Niamat; Wang, Xuejiao; Sun, Xuchun; Li, Chenyi; Bai, Yun; Chen, Lin; Li, Zhixi

    2015-10-01

    In this study, comprehensive characterization and drying methods on properties of bacterial cellulose were analyzed. Bacterial cellulose was prepared by Gluconacetobacter hansenii CGMCC 3917, which was mutated by high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment. Bacterial cellulose is mainly comprised of cellulose Iα with high crystallinity and purity. High-water holding and absorption capacity were examined by reticulated structure. Thermogravimetric analysis showed high thermal stability. High tensile strength and Young's modulus indicated its mechanical properties. The rheological analysis showed that bacterial cellulose had good consistency and viscosity. These results indicated that bacterial cellulose is a potential food additive and also could be used for a food packaging material. The high textural stability during freeze-thaw cycles makes bacterial cellulose an effective additive for frozen food products. In addition, the properties of bacterial cellulose can be affected by drying methods. Our results suggest that the bacterial cellulose produced from HHP-mutant strain has an effective characterization, which can be used for a wide range of applications in food industry. © 2015 Institute of Food Technologists®

  4. Effect of environmental conditions on the mechanical properties and fungal degradation of polycaprolactone/microcrystalline cellulose/wood flour composites

    Treesearch

    Ronald Sabo; Liwei Jin; Nicole Stark; Rebecca E. Ibach

    2013-01-01

    Polycaprolactone (PCL) filled with microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), wood flour (WF), or both were characterized before and after exposure to various environmental conditions for 60 days. PCL/WF composites had the greatest tensile strength and modulus compared to neat PCL or PCL composites containing MCC. Electron microscopy indicated better adhesion between WF...

  5. Enzymatic hydrolysis of biomimetic bacterial cellulose-hemicellulose composites.

    PubMed

    Penttilä, Paavo A; Imai, Tomoya; Hemming, Jarl; Willför, Stefan; Sugiyama, Junji

    2018-06-15

    The production of biofuels and other chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass is limited by the inefficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis. Here a biomimetic composite material consisting of bacterial cellulose and wood-based hemicelluloses was used to study the effects of hemicelluloses on the enzymatic hydrolysis with a commercial cellulase mixture. Bacterial cellulose synthesized in the presence of hemicelluloses, especially xylan, was found to be more susceptible to enzymatic hydrolysis than hemicellulose-free bacterial cellulose. The reason for the easier hydrolysis could be related to the nanoscale structure of the substrate, particularly the packing of cellulose microfibrils into ribbons or bundles. In addition, small-angle X-ray scattering was used to show that the average nanoscale morphology of bacterial cellulose remained unchanged during the enzymatic hydrolysis. The reported easier enzymatic hydrolysis of bacterial cellulose produced in the presence of wood-based xylan offers new insights to overcome biomass recalcitrance through genetic engineering. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. A diffuse reflectance comparative study of benzil inclusion within microcrystalline cellulose and beta-cyclodextrin.

    PubMed

    Vieira Ferreira, Luis F; Ferreira Machado, Isabel; Da Silva, José P; Oliveira, Anabela S

    2004-02-01

    Diffuse reflectance and laser-induced techniques were used to study photochemical and photophysical processes of benzil adsorbed on two solid powdered supports, microcrystalline cellulose and [small beta]-cyclodextrin. In both substrates, a distribution of ground-state benzil conformers exists, largely dominated by skew conformations where the carbonyl groups are twisted one to the other. Room temperature phosphorescence was observed in air-equilibrated samples in both cases. The decay times vary greatly and the largest lifetime was obtained for benzil/[small beta]-cyclodextrin, showing that this host's cavity accommodates benzil well, enhancing its room temperature phosphorescence. Triplet-triplet absorption of benzil entrapped in cellulose was detected and benzil ketyl radical formation also occurred. With benzil included into [small beta]-cyclodextrin, and following laser excitation, benzoyl radicals were detected on the millisecond timescale. Product analysis and identification of laser-irradiated benzil samples in the two hosts clearly showed that the main degradation photoproducts were benzoic acid and benzaldehyde. The main differences were a larger benzoic acid/benzaldehyde ratio in the case of cellulose and the formation of benzyl alcohol in this support.

  7. Applications of bacterial cellulose and its composites in biomedicine.

    PubMed

    Rajwade, J M; Paknikar, K M; Kumbhar, J V

    2015-03-01

    Bacterial cellulose produced by few but specific microbial genera is an extremely pure natural exopolysaccharide. Besides providing adhesive properties and a competitive advantage to the cellulose over-producer, bacterial cellulose confers UV protection, ensures maintenance of an aerobic environment, retains moisture, protects against heavy metal stress, etc. This unique nanostructured matrix is being widely explored for various medical and nonmedical applications. It can be produced in various shapes and forms because of which it finds varied uses in biomedicine. The attributes of bacterial cellulose such as biocompatibility, haemocompatibility, mechanical strength, microporosity and biodegradability with its unique surface chemistry make it ideally suited for a plethora of biomedical applications. This review highlights these qualities of bacterial cellulose in detail with emphasis on reports that prove its utility in biomedicine. It also gives an in-depth account of various biomedical applications ranging from implants and scaffolds for tissue engineering, carriers for drug delivery, wound-dressing materials, etc. that are reported until date. Besides, perspectives on limitations of commercialisation of bacterial cellulose have been presented. This review is also an update on the variety of low-cost substrates used for production of bacterial cellulose and its nonmedical applications and includes patents and commercial products based on bacterial cellulose.

  8. Structure-property relationships of Thai silk-microcrystalline cellulose biocomposite materials fabricated from ionic liquid.

    PubMed

    DeFrates, Kelsey; Markiewicz, Theodore; Callaway, Kayla; Xue, Ye; Stanton, John; Salas-de la Cruz, David; Hu, Xiao

    2017-11-01

    Biomaterials made from natural proteins and polysaccharides have become increasingly popular in the biomedical field due to their good biocompatibility and tunable biodegradability. However, the low miscibility of polysaccharides with proteins presents challenges in the creation of protein-polysaccharide composite materials. In this study, neat 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (AMIMCl) ionic liquid was used to regenerate Thailand gold Bombyx mori silk and microcrystalline cellulose blended films. This solvent was found to not only effectively dissolve both natural polymers, but also preserve the structure and integrity of the polymers. A single glass transition temperature for each blend was found in DSC curves, indicating good miscibility between the Thai silk and cellulose molecules. The structural composition as well as the morphology and thermal stability of blend films were then determined using FTIR, SEM and TGA. It was found that by varying the ratio of Thai silk to cellulose, the thermal and physical properties of the material could be tuned. Blended films tended to be more thermally stable which could be due to the presence of hydrophobic-hydrophobic or electrostatic interactions between the silk and cellulose. These studies offered a new pathway to understand the tunable properties of protein-polysaccharide composite biomaterials with controllable physical and biological properties. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Production of bacterial cellulose from alternate feedstocks

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    D. N. Thompson; M. A. Hamilton

    2000-05-07

    Production of bacterial cellulose by Acetobacter xylinum ATCC 10821 and 23770 in static cultures was tested from unamended food process effluents. Effluents included low- and high-solids potato effluents (LS and HS), cheese whey permeate (CW), and sugar beet raffinate (CSB). Strain 23770 produced 10% less cellulose from glucose than did 10821, and diverted more glucose to gluconate. Unamended HS, CW, and CSB were unsuitable for cellulose production by either strain, while LS was unsuitable for production by 10821. However, 23770 produced 17% more cellulose from LS than from glucose, indicating unamended LS could serve as a feedstock for bacterial cellulose.

  10. Production of Bacterial Cellulose from Alternate Feedstocks

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Thompson, David Neil; Hamilton, Melinda Ann

    2000-05-01

    Production of bacterial cellulose by Acetobacter xylinum ATCC 10821 and 23770 in static cultures was tested from unamended food process effluents. Effluents included low- and high-solids potato effluents (LS & HS), cheese whey permeate (CW), and sugar beet raffinate (CSB). Strain 23770 produced 10% less cellulose from glucose than did 10821, and diverted more glucose to gluconate. Unamended HS, CW, and CSB were unsuitable for cellulose production by either strain, while LS was unsuitable for production by 10821. However, 23770 produced 17% more cellulose from LS than from glucose, indicating unamended LS could serve as a feedstock for bacterial cellulose.

  11. The effect of deuteration on the structure of bacterial cellulose

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bali, Garima; Foston, Marcus; O'Neill, Hugh Michael

    2013-01-01

    ABSTRACT In vivo generated deuterated bacterial cellulose, cultivated from 100% deuterated glycerol in D2O medium, was analyzed for deuterium incorporation by ionic liquid dissolution and 2H and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). A solution NMR method of the dissolved cellulose was used to determine that this bacterial cellulose had 85 % deuterium incorporation. Acetylation and 1H and 2H NMR of deuterated bacterial cellulose indicated near equal deuteration at all sites of the glucopyranosyl ring except C-6 which was partly deuterated. Despite the high level of deuterium incorporation there were no significant differences in the molecular and morphological properties were observedmore » for the deuterated and protio bacterial cellulose samples. The highly deuterated bacterial cellulose presented here can be used as a model substrate for studying cellulose biopolymer properties via future small angle neutron scattering (SANS) studies.« less

  12. Metallization of bacterial cellulose for electrical and electronic device manufacture

    DOEpatents

    Evans, Barbara R [Oak Ridge, TN; O'Neill, Hugh M [Knoxville, TN; Jansen, Valerie Malyvanh [Memphis, TN; Woodward, Jonathan [Knoxville, TN

    2011-06-07

    A method for the deposition of metals in bacterial cellulose and for the employment of the metallized bacterial cellulose in the construction of fuel cells and other electronic devices is disclosed. The method for impregnating bacterial cellulose with a metal comprises placing a bacterial cellulose matrix in a solution of a metal salt such that the metal salt is reduced to metallic form and the metal precipitates in or on the matrix. The method for the construction of a fuel cell comprises placing a hydrated bacterial cellulose support structure in a solution of a metal salt such that the metal precipitates in or on the support structure, inserting contact wires into two pieces of the metal impregnated support structure, placing the two pieces of metal impregnated support structure on opposite sides of a layer of hydrated bacterial cellulose, and dehydrating the three layer structure to create a fuel cell.

  13. Metallization of bacterial cellulose for electrical and electronic device manufacture

    DOEpatents

    Evans, Barbara R [Oak Ridge, TN; O'Neill, Hugh M [Knoxville, TN; Jansen, Valerie Malyvanh [Memphis, TN; Woodward, Jonathan [Knoxville, TN

    2010-09-28

    A method for the deposition of metals in bacterial cellulose and for the employment of the metallized bacterial cellulose in the construction of fuel cells and other electronic devices is disclosed. The method for impregnating bacterial cellulose with a metal comprises placing a bacterial cellulose matrix in a solution of a metal salt such that the metal salt is reduced to metallic form and the metal precipitates in or on the matrix. The method for the construction of a fuel cell comprises placing a hydrated bacterial cellulose support structure in a solution of a metal salt such that the metal precipitates in or on the support structure, inserting contact wires into two pieces of the metal impregnated support structure, placing the two pieces of metal impregnated support structure on opposite sides of a layer of hydrated bacterial cellulose, and dehydrating the three layer structure to create a fuel cell.

  14. Glycerol as an additional carbon source for bacterial cellulose synthesis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Agustin, Y. E.; Padmawijaya, K. S.; Rixwari, H. F.; Yuniharto, V. A. S.

    2018-03-01

    Bacterial cellulose, the fermentation result of Acetobacter xylinus can be produced when glycerol was used as an additional carbon source. In this research, bacterial cellulose produced in two different fermentation medium, Hestrin and Scharmm (HS) medium and HS medium with additional MgSO4. Concentration of glycerol that used in this research were 0%; 5%; 10%; and 15% (v/v). The optimum conditions of bacterial cellulose production on each experiment variations determined by characterization of the mechanical properties, including thickness, tensile strength and elongation. Fourier Transform Infra Red Spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed the characterization of bacterial cellulose. Results showed that the growth rate of bacterial cellulose in HS-MgSO4-glycerol medium was faster than in HS-glycerol medium. Increasing concentrations of glycerol will lower the value of tensile strength and elongation. Elongation test showed that the elongation bacterial cellulose (BC) with the addition of 4.95% (v/v) glycerol in the HS-MgSO4 medium is the highest elongation value. The optimum bacterial cellulose production was achieved when 4.95% (v/v) of glycerol added into HS-MgSO4 medium with stress at break of 116.885 MPa and 4.214% elongation.

  15. Bacterial cellulose-kaolin nanocomposites for application as biomedical wound healing materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wanna, Dwi; Alam, Catharina; Toivola, Diana M.; Alam, Parvez

    2013-12-01

    This short communication provides preliminary experimental details on the structure-property relationships of novel biomedical kaolin-bacterial cellulose nanocomposites. Bacterial cellulose is an effective binding agent for kaolin particles forming reticulated structures at kaolin-cellulose interfaces and entanglements when the cellulose fraction is sufficiently high. The mechanical performance of these materials hence improves with an increased fraction of bacterial cellulose, though this also causes the rate of blood clotting to decrease. These composites have combined potential as both short-term (kaolin) and long-term (bacterial cellulose) wound healing materials.

  16. Comparative secretomic analysis of lignocellulose degradation by Lentinula edodes grown on microcrystalline cellulose, lignosulfonate and glucose.

    PubMed

    Cai, Yingli; Gong, Yuhua; Liu, Wei; Hu, Yue; Chen, Lianfu; Yan, Lianlian; Zhou, Yan; Bian, Yinbing

    2017-06-23

    Lentinula edodes has the potential to degrade woody and nonwoody lignocellulosic biomass. However, the mechanism of lignocellulose degradation by L. edodes is unclear. The aim of this work is to explore the profiling of soluble secreted proteins involved in lignocellulose degradation in L. edodes. For that, we compared the secretomes of L. edodes grown on microcrystalline cellulose, cellulose with lignosulfonate and glucose. Based on nanoliquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry of whole-protein hydrolysate, 230 proteins were identified. Label-free proteomic analysis showed that the most abundant carbohydrate-active enzymes involved in polysaccharide hydrolysis were endo-β-1,4-glucanase, α-galactosidase, polygalacturonase and glucoamylase in both cellulosic secretomes. In contrast, enzymes involved in lignin degradation were most abundant in glucose culture, with laccase 1 being the predominant protein (13.13%). When the cellulose and cellulose with lignosulfonate secretomes were compared, the abundance of cellulases and hemicellulases was higher in cellulose with lignosulfonate cultures, which was confirmed by enzyme activity assays. In addition, qRT-PCR analysis demonstrated that the expression levels of genes encoding cellulases and hemicellulases were significantly increased (by 32.2- to 1166.7-fold) when L. edodes was grown in cellulose with lignosulfonate medium. In this article, the secretomes of L. edodes grown on three different carbon sources were compared. The presented results revealed the profiling of extracellular enzymes involved in lignocellulose degradation, which is helpful to further explore the mechanism of biomass bioconversion by L. edodes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Joint action of ultrasonic and Fe³⁺ to improve selectivity of acid hydrolysis for microcrystalline cellulose.

    PubMed

    Li, Jinbao; Qiang, Dandan; Zhang, Meiyun; Xiu, Huijuan; Zhang, Xiangrong

    2015-09-20

    In this study, the combination of Fe(3+)/HCl and ultrasonic treatment was applied to selectively hydrolyze cellulose for the preparation of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). It was found that the crystallinity and specific surface area of hydrocellulose samples were higher (78.92% and 2.23581 m(2)g(-1), respectively), compared with the method that only used Fe(3+)/HCl catalyst without ultrasonic treatment. Meanwhile, the hydrolysate can be extracted and reused for cellulose hydrolysis for three runs, which was effective in saving the dosage of chemicals and reducing the pollution of the environment without affecting the properties of hydrocellulose. Moreover, the increased concentration of total reducing sugar (TRS) after three runs may be used as a valuable source in biofuels production. The technology of cellulose hydrolysis, by retaining the crystalline region for MCC products while promoting hydrolysis of amorphous region for further utilization is of great novelty, which may prove valuable in converting biomass into chemicals and biofuels, environmentally and economically. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. The rheological properties of modified microcrystalline cellulose containing high levels of model drugs.

    PubMed

    Knight, Paul E; Podczeck, Fridrun; Newton, J Michael

    2009-06-01

    The rheological properties of different types of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) mixed with model drugs and water have been evaluated to identify the influence of sodium carboxymethylcellulose (SCMC) added to the cellulose during preparation. A ram extruder was used as a capillary rheometer. The mixtures consisted of 20% spheronizing agent (standard grade MCC or modified types with 6% or 8% of low viscosity grade SCMC) and 80% of ascorbic acid, ibuprofen or lactose monohydrate. The introduction of SCMC changed all rheological parameters assessed. It produced more rigid systems, requiring more stress to induce and maintain flow. Degree of non-Newtonian flow, angle of convergence, extensional viscosity, yield and die land shear stress at zero velocity, and static wall friction were increased, but recoverable shear and compliance were decreased. The presence of SCMC did not remove the influence of the type of drug. The mixture of ibuprofen and standard MCC had the lowest values for shear stress as a function of the rate of shear, extensional viscosity, and angle of convergence, but the highest values for recoverable shear and compliance. The findings indicate that the system has insufficient rigidity to form pellets. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  19. Enzymatic properties of Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum β-glucosidase fused to Clostridium cellulovorans cellulose binding domain and its application in hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Linguo; Pang, Qian; Xie, Jingcong; Pei, Jianjun; Wang, Fei; Fan, Song

    2013-11-14

    The complete degradation of the cellulose requires the synergistic action of endo-β-glucanase, exo-β-glucanase, and β-glucosidase. But endo-β-glucanase and exo-β-glucanase can be recovered by solid-liquid separation in cellulose hydrolysis by their cellulose binding domain (CBD), however, the β-glucosidases cannot be recovered because of most β-glucosidases without the CBD, so additional β-glucosidases are necessary for the next cellulose degradation. This will increase the cost of cellulose degradation. The glucose-tolerant β-glucosidase (BGL) from Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum DSM 571 was fused with cellulose binding domain (CBD) of Clostridium cellulovorans cellulosome anchoring protein by a peptide linker. The fusion enzyme (BGL-CBD) gene was overexpressed in Escherichia coli with the maximum β-glucosidase activity of 17 U/mL. Recombinant BGL-CBD was purified by heat treatment and following by Ni-NTA affinity. The enzymatic characteristics of the BGL-CBD showed optimal activities at pH 6.0 and 65°C. The fusion of CBD structure enhanced the hydrolytic efficiency of the BGL-CBD against cellobiose, which displayed a 6-fold increase in Vmax/Km in comparison with the BGL. A gram of cellulose was found to absorb 643 U of the fusion enzyme (BGL-CBD) in pH 6.0 at 50°C for 25 min with a high immobilization efficiency of 90%. Using the BGL-CBD as the catalyst, the yield of glucose reached a maximum of 90% from 100 g/L cellobiose and the BGL-CBD could retain over 85% activity after five batches with the yield of glucose all above 70%. The performance of the BGL-CBD on microcrystalline cellulose was also studied. The yield of the glucose was increased from 47% to 58% by adding the BGL-CBD to the cellulase, instead of adding the Novozyme 188. The hydrolytic activity of BGL-CBD is greater than that of the Novozyme 188 in cellulose degradation. The article provides a prospect to decrease significantly the operational cost of the hydrolysis process.

  20. Bacterial Cellulose Production from Industrial Waste and by-Product Streams.

    PubMed

    Tsouko, Erminda; Kourmentza, Constantina; Ladakis, Dimitrios; Kopsahelis, Nikolaos; Mandala, Ioanna; Papanikolaou, Seraphim; Paloukis, Fotis; Alves, Vitor; Koutinas, Apostolis

    2015-07-01

    The utilization of fermentation media derived from waste and by-product streams from biodiesel and confectionery industries could lead to highly efficient production of bacterial cellulose. Batch fermentations with the bacterial strain Komagataeibacter sucrofermentans DSM (Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen) 15973 were initially carried out in synthetic media using commercial sugars and crude glycerol. The highest bacterial cellulose concentration was achieved when crude glycerol (3.2 g/L) and commercial sucrose (4.9 g/L) were used. The combination of crude glycerol and sunflower meal hydrolysates as the sole fermentation media resulted in bacterial cellulose production of 13.3 g/L. Similar results (13 g/L) were obtained when flour-rich hydrolysates produced from confectionery industry waste streams were used. The properties of bacterial celluloses developed when different fermentation media were used showed water holding capacities of 102-138 g · water/g · dry bacterial cellulose, viscosities of 4.7-9.3 dL/g, degree of polymerization of 1889.1-2672.8, stress at break of 72.3-139.5 MPa and Young's modulus of 0.97-1.64 GPa. This study demonstrated that by-product streams from the biodiesel industry and waste streams from confectionery industries could be used as the sole sources of nutrients for the production of bacterial cellulose with similar properties as those produced with commercial sources of nutrients.

  1. Production of cellulose II from native cellulose by near- and supercritical water solubilization.

    PubMed

    Sasaki, Mitsuru; Adschiri, Tadafumi; Arai, Kunio

    2003-08-27

    We explored conditions for dissolving microcrystalline cellulose in high-temperature and high-pressure water without catalyst and in order to produce cellulose II in a rapid and selective manner. For understanding reactions of microcrystalline cellulose in subcritical and supercritical water, its solubilization treatment was conducted using a continuous-flow-type microreactor. It was found that cellulose could dissolve in near- and supercritical water at short treatment times of 0.02-0.4 s, resulting in the formation of cellulose II in relatively high yield after the treatment. Next, characteristics of the cellulose II obtained were investigated. As a result, it was confirmed that the relative crystallinity index and the degree of polymerization of the cellulose II were high values ranging from 80 to 60% and from 50 to 30%, respectively. From these findings, it was suggested that this method had high potential as an alternative technique for the conventional cellulose II production method.

  2. Bacterial Cellulose Production from Industrial Waste and by-Product Streams

    PubMed Central

    Tsouko, Erminda; Kourmentza, Constantina; Ladakis, Dimitrios; Kopsahelis, Nikolaos; Mandala, Ioanna; Papanikolaou, Seraphim; Paloukis, Fotis; Alves, Vitor; Koutinas, Apostolis

    2015-01-01

    The utilization of fermentation media derived from waste and by-product streams from biodiesel and confectionery industries could lead to highly efficient production of bacterial cellulose. Batch fermentations with the bacterial strain Komagataeibacter sucrofermentans DSM (Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen) 15973 were initially carried out in synthetic media using commercial sugars and crude glycerol. The highest bacterial cellulose concentration was achieved when crude glycerol (3.2 g/L) and commercial sucrose (4.9 g/L) were used. The combination of crude glycerol and sunflower meal hydrolysates as the sole fermentation media resulted in bacterial cellulose production of 13.3 g/L. Similar results (13 g/L) were obtained when flour-rich hydrolysates produced from confectionery industry waste streams were used. The properties of bacterial celluloses developed when different fermentation media were used showed water holding capacities of 102–138 g·water/g·dry bacterial cellulose, viscosities of 4.7–9.3 dL/g, degree of polymerization of 1889.1–2672.8, stress at break of 72.3–139.5 MPa and Young’s modulus of 0.97–1.64 GPa. This study demonstrated that by-product streams from the biodiesel industry and waste streams from confectionery industries could be used as the sole sources of nutrients for the production of bacterial cellulose with similar properties as those produced with commercial sources of nutrients. PMID:26140376

  3. Metallization of bacterial cellulose for electrical and electronic device manufacture

    DOEpatents

    Evans, Barbara R.; O'Neill, Hugh M.; Jansen, Valerie Malyvanh; Woodward, Jonathan

    2006-01-17

    The employment of metallized bacterial cellulose in the construction of fuel cells and other electronic devices is disclosed. The fuel cell includes an electrolyte membrane comprising a membrane support structure comprising bacterial cellulose, an anode disposed on one side of the electrolyte membrane, and a cathode disposed on an opposite side of the electrolyte membrane. At least one of the anode and the cathode comprises an electrode support structure comprising bacterial cellulose, and a catalyst disposed in or on the electrode support structure.

  4. Effects of guar gum, ispaghula and microcrystalline cellulose on abdominal symptoms, gastric emptying, orocaecal transit time and gas production in healthy volunteers.

    PubMed

    Bianchi, M; Capurso, L

    2002-09-01

    Dietary fibres are carbohydrates that resist hydrolysis by human intestinal enzymes but are fermented by colonic microflora. Soluble dietary fibres are fermented by anaerobic bacteria with production of gases, short chain fatty acids and other metabolic products believed to cause symptoms such as bloating, abdominal distension, flatulence. Insoluble fibres are only partially fermented, serving almost exclusively as bulking agents that result in shorter transit time and increased faecal mass. To evaluate effect of a supplementation of a single 5 g dose of dietary fibre to a solid meal on gastric emptying, orocaecal transit time, gas production and symptom genesis, in healthy volunteers. Three different dietary fibres were tested, two soluble (guar gum and ispaghula] and one insoluble (microcrystalline cellulose). After a 24-hour low fibre diet, 10 healthy subjects had a standard meal consisting of white bread and one 70 g egg the yolk of which was mixed with 100 mg of 13C octanoic acid and fried. Breath samples were collected for 13CO2 measurements with a mass spectrophotometer and excretion curve (Tlag, T1/2) evaluation. Further breath samples were collected and analysed with a gas chromatograph for the evaluation of H2 and CH4 production and orocaecal transit time. Each evaluation was repeated adding to standard meal, diluted in 300 ml tap water, respectively: a single 5 g dose of microcrystalline cellulose, guar gum or ispaghula. Subjects were asked to report all symptoms experienced from time of meal ingestion over 24 hours, evaluating the intensity. Dietary fibres did not significantly change gastric emptying (Tlag, T1/2) and orocaecal transit time of standard meal. Subjects experienced more symptoms when meals were supplemented with guar gum (p=0.009 vs standard meal) and ispaghula (p=0.048 vs standard meal). There was a poor, but significant, correlation between gas production and symptoms (r=0. 38, p=0. 01). Addition of different dietary fibres to a solid

  5. The effect of pulping concentration treatment on the properties of microcrystalline cellulose powder obtained from waste paper.

    PubMed

    Okwonna, Okumneme O

    2013-10-15

    Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) powder was isolated from three grades of waste paper: book, Groundwood/Newsprint and paperboard, through the processes of pulping and hydrolysis. Pulping treatment on these grades of waste paper was done using varying concentrations of caustic soda. Effects of the concentration of the pulping medium on the thermal and kinetic properties were investigated. Also determined were the effects of this on the physico-chemical properties. The chemical structure was characterized using an infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Results showed these properties to be affected by the concentration of the pulping medium. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Cellulose-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid conjugates protect mammalian cells from bacterial cells.

    PubMed

    Luo, Jie; Lv, Wei; Deng, Ying; Sun, Yuyu

    2013-04-08

    Cellulose-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) conjugates were synthesized by the esterification of cellulose with ethylenediaminetetraacetic dianhydride (EDTAD). The new materials provided potent antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus, Gram-positive bacteria) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa, Gram-negative bacteria), and inhibited the formation of bacterial biofilms. The biocompatibility of the new cellulose-EDTA conjugates was evaluated with mouse skin fibroblasts for up to 14 days. SEM observation and DNA content analysis suggested that the new materials sustained the viability of fibroblast cells. Moreover, in mouse skin fibroblast-bacteria co-culture systems, the new cellulose-EDTA conjugates prevented bacterial biofilm formation and protected the mammalian cells from the bacterial cells for at least one day.

  7. Enzymatic properties of Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum β-glucosidase fused to Clostridium cellulovorans cellulose binding domain and its application in hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background The complete degradation of the cellulose requires the synergistic action of endo-β-glucanase, exo-β-glucanase, and β-glucosidase. But endo-β-glucanase and exo-β-glucanase can be recovered by solid–liquid separation in cellulose hydrolysis by their cellulose binding domain (CBD), however, the β-glucosidases cannot be recovered because of most β-glucosidases without the CBD, so additional β-glucosidases are necessary for the next cellulose degradation. This will increase the cost of cellulose degradation. Results The glucose-tolerant β-glucosidase (BGL) from Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum DSM 571 was fused with cellulose binding domain (CBD) of Clostridium cellulovorans cellulosome anchoring protein by a peptide linker. The fusion enzyme (BGL-CBD) gene was overexpressed in Escherichia coli with the maximum β-glucosidase activity of 17 U/mL. Recombinant BGL-CBD was purified by heat treatment and following by Ni-NTA affinity. The enzymatic characteristics of the BGL-CBD showed optimal activities at pH 6.0 and 65°C. The fusion of CBD structure enhanced the hydrolytic efficiency of the BGL-CBD against cellobiose, which displayed a 6-fold increase in V max /K m in comparison with the BGL. A gram of cellulose was found to absorb 643 U of the fusion enzyme (BGL-CBD) in pH 6.0 at 50°C for 25 min with a high immobilization efficiency of 90%. Using the BGL-CBD as the catalyst, the yield of glucose reached a maximum of 90% from 100 g/L cellobiose and the BGL-CBD could retain over 85% activity after five batches with the yield of glucose all above 70%. The performance of the BGL-CBD on microcrystalline cellulose was also studied. The yield of the glucose was increased from 47% to 58% by adding the BGL-CBD to the cellulase, instead of adding the Novozyme 188. Conclusions The hydrolytic activity of BGL-CBD is greater than that of the Novozyme 188 in cellulose degradation. The article provides a prospect to decrease significantly the

  8. Bacterial cellulose production by Gluconacetobacter sp. PKY5 in a rotary biofilm contactor.

    PubMed

    Kim, Yong-Jun; Kim, Jin-Nam; Wee, Young-Jung; Park, Don-Hee; Ryu, Hwa-Won

    2007-04-01

    A rotary biofilm contactor (RBC) inoculated with Gluconacetobacter sp. RKY5 was used as a bioreactor for improved bacterial cellulose production. The optimal number of disk for bacterial cellulose production was found to be eight, at which bacterial cellulose and cell concentrations were 5.52 and 4.98 g/L. When the aeration rate was maintained at 1.25 vvm, bacterial cellulose and cell concentrations were maximized (5.67 and 5.25 g/L, respectively). The optimal rotation speed of impeller in RBC was 15 rpm. When the culture pH in RBC was not controlled during fermentation, the maximal amount of bacterial cellulose (5.53 g/L) and cells (4.91 g/L) was obtained. Under the optimized culture conditions, bacterial cellulose and cell concentrations in RBC reached to 6.17 and 5.58 g/L, respectively.

  9. Bacterial Cellulose Production by Gluconacetobacter sp. RKY5 in a Rotary Biofilm Contactor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Yong-Jun; Kim, Jin-Nam; Wee, Young-Jung; Park, Don-Hee; Ryu, Hwa-Won

    A rotary biofilm contactor (RBC) inoculated with Gluconacetobacter sp. RKY5 was used as a bioreactor for improved bacterial cellulose production. The optimal number of disk for bacterial cellulose production was found to be eight, at which bacterial cellulose and cell concentrations were 5.52 and 4.98 g/L. When the aeration rate was maintained at 1.25 vvm, bacterial cellulose and cell concentrations were maximized (5.67 and 5.25 g/L, respectively). The optimal rotation speed of impeller in RBC was 15 rpm. When the culture pH in RBC was not controlled during fermentation, the maximal amount of bacterial cellulose (5.53 g/L) and cells (4.91 g/L) was obtained. Under the optimized culture conditions, bacterial cellulose and cell concentrations in RBC reached to 6.17 and 5.58 g/L, respectively.

  10. Processing of micro-nano bacterial cellulose with hydrolysis method as a reinforcing bioplastic

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maryam, Maryam; Dedy, Rahmad; Yunizurwan, Yunizurwan

    2017-01-01

    Nanotechnology is the ability to create and manipulate atoms and molecules on the smallest of scales. Their size allows them to exhibit novel and significantly improved physical, chemical, biological properties, phenomena, and processes because of their size. The purpose of this research is obtaining micro-nano bacterial cellulose as reinforcing bioplastics. Bacterial cellulose (BC) was made from coconut water for two weeks. BC was dried and grinded. Bacterial cellulose was given purification process with NaOH 5% for 6 hours. Making the micro-nano bacterial cellulose with hydrolysis method. Hydrolysis process with hydrochloric acid (HCl) at the conditions 3,5M, 55°C, 6 hours. Drying process used spray dryer. The hydrolysis process was obtained bacterial cellulose with ±7 μm. The addition 2% micro-nano bacterial cellulose as reinforcing in bioplastics composite can improve the physical characteristics.

  11. A novel process for synthesis of spherical nanocellulose by controlled hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose using anaerobic microbial consortium.

    PubMed

    Satyamurthy, P; Vigneshwaran, N

    2013-01-10

    Degradation of cellulose by anaerobic microbial consortium is brought about either by an exocellular process or by secretion of extracellular enzymes. In this work, a novel route for synthesis of nanocellulose is described where in an anaerobic microbial consortium enriched for cellulase producers is used for hydrolysis. Microcrystalline cellulose derived from cotton fibers was subjected to controlled hydrolysis by the anaerobic microbial consortium and the resultant nanocellulose was purified by differential centrifugation technique. The nanocellulose had a bimodal size distribution (43±13 and 119±9 nm) as revealed by atomic force microscopy. A maximum nanocellulose yield of 12.3% was achieved in a span of 7 days. While the conventional process of nanocellulose preparation using 63.5% (w/w) sulfuric acid resulted in the formation of whisker shaped nanocellulose with surface modified by sulfation, controlled hydrolysis by anaerobic microbial consortium yielded spherical nanocellulose also referred to as nano crystalline cellulose (NCC) without any surface modification as evidenced from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Also, it scores over chemo-mechanical production of nanofibrillated cellulose by consuming less energy due to enzyme (cellulase) assisted catalysis. This implies the scope for use of microbial prepared nanocellulose in drug delivery and bio-medical applications requiring bio-compatibility. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Provision of micro-nano bacterial cellulose as bio plastic filler by sonication method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maryam; Rahmad, D.; Yunizurwan; Kasim, A.; Novelina; Emriadi

    2017-07-01

    Research and development of bioplastic has increased recently as a solution for substitution of conventional plastic which have many negative impacts to environment. However, physical properties and mechanical properties of its still lower than conventional plastic. An alternative solution for that problem is by using fillers that can increase the strength. Bacterial cellulose is considered as potential source for filler, but still need to be explored more. The privileges of bacterial cellulose are easy to get and does not have lignin, pectin, and hemicelluloses which are impurities in other celluloses. This research focused on gaining bacterial cellulose in micro-nano particle form and its impact on increasing the strength of bio plastic. Ultrasonication has been used as method to form micro-nano particle from bacterial cellulose. The result showed this method may form the particle size of bacterial cellulose approximately ± 3μm. Next step, after getting ± 3μm particle of bacterial cellulose, is making bio plastic with casting method by adding 1% of bacterial cellulose, from the total material in making bio plastic. Physical characteristic of the bio plastic which are tensile strength 11.85 MPa, modulus young 3.13 MPa, elongation 4.11% and density 0.42 g/cm3. The numbers of physical properties showwthat, by adding 1% of bacterial cellulose, the strength of bio plastic was significantly increase, even value of tensile strength has complied the international standard for bio plastic.

  13. Three-dimensional printed polycaprolactone-microcrystalline cellulose scaffolds.

    PubMed

    Alemán-Domínguez, Maria Elena; Giusto, Elena; Ortega, Zaida; Tamaddon, Maryam; Benítez, Antonio Nizardo; Liu, Chaozong

    2018-05-02

    Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) is proposed in this study as an additive in polycaprolactone (PCL) matrices to obtain three-dimensional (3D) printed scaffolds with improved mechanical and biological properties. Improving the mechanical behavior and the biological performance of polycaprolactone-based scaffolds allows to increase the potential of these structures for bone tissue engineering. Different groups of samples were evaluated in order to analyze the effect of the additive in the properties of the PCL matrix. The concentrations of MCC in the groups of samples were 0, 2, 5, and 10% (w/w). These combinations were subjected to a thermogravimetric analysis in order to evaluate the influence of the additive in the thermal properties of the composites. 3D printed scaffolds were manufactured with a commercial 3D printer based on fused deposition modelling. The operation conditions have been established in order to obtain scaffolds with a 0/90° pattern with pore sizes between 450 and 500 µm and porosity values between 50 and 60%. The mechanical properties of these structures were measured in the compression and flexural modes. The scaffolds containing 2 and 5% MCC have higher flexural and compression elastic modulus, although those containing 10% do not show this reinforcement effect. On the other hand, the proliferation of sheep bone marrow cells on the proposed scaffolds was evaluated over 8 days. The results show that the proliferation is significantly better (p < 0.05) on the group of samples containing 2% MCC. Therefore, these scaffolds (PCL:MCC 98:2) have suitable properties to be further evaluated for bone tissue engineering applications. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. Effects of electron beam radiation dose on the compatibilization behaviour in recycled polypropylene/microcrystalline cellulose composites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Samat, N.; Motsidi, S. N. R.; Lazim, N. H. M.

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this research was to evaluate the influence of dose level of electron beam on the compatibilization behavior of recycled polypropylene (rPP) in rPP/microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) composites. Initially, the rPP was irradiated with various dose of electron beam (5 kGy up to 250 kGy) which then mixed with unirradiated rPP (u-rPP) at a ratio of 30:70 respectively. The composites were prepared by incorporating a series wt% of MCC fibers into rPP (u-rPP : i-rPP) using extruder and finally moulded with an injection moulding machine. The compatibility behavior of irradiated rPP (i-rPP) were analysed with mechanical tensile and thermal methods. The results of mechanical analysis showed great improvement in tensile modulus but an increase in radiation dosage gradually decreased this property. Nevertheless, the tensile strength exhibited a minor effect. The thermal stability of composites is lowered with increase in the absorbed dose, more significantly at higher content of MCC. Fracture surface observations reveal adhesion between the cellulose and rPP matrix.

  15. Bacterial cellulose as an example product for sustainable production and consumption.

    PubMed

    Jang, Woo Dae; Hwang, Ji Hyeon; Kim, Hyun Uk; Ryu, Jae Yong; Lee, Sang Yup

    2017-09-01

    Life cycle of bacterial cellulose. Sustainable production and consumption of bio-based products are showcased using bacterial cellulose as an example. © 2017 The Authors. Microbial Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for Applied Microbiology.

  16. Extraction of microcrystalline cellulose from rice straw and its effect on polyvinyl alcohol biocomposites film

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chin, Kwok-Mern; Ting, Sam Sung; Lin, Ong Hui; Owi, Wei Tieng

    2017-07-01

    The poor management and underutilization of agricultural wastes had proliferated interest of researchers around the world to find alternatives to utilize them as potential value-added products. One of the green alternatives is by extracting cellulose from these waste materials and incorporating them in polymer as reinforcement fillers. The surging amount of plastic waste also posed major issues to the environment due to its recalcitrance to degrade. Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC-RS) was extracted from rice straw through cyclic alkaline and bleaching treatment to remove hemicellulose and lignin respectively. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) was chosen as the matrix and different ratios of PVOH / MCC-RS films were prepared (2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0wt% of MCC) through solution casting method and its tensile, thermal and morphological properties were studied. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) results showed increased crystallinity of MCC-RS after chemical treatment (from 44.5% to 60.8%) due to the successful removal of lignin and hemicellulose, which was then confirmed with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results. For the biocomposites, both tensile strength and Young's modulus of the films increased with increasing MCC-RS content up until 7.5wt%, supported with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results which depicted improvement in the interfacial adhesion between MCC-RS and PVOH. From the overall results, the improvement in properties of biocomposite from cellulose-based microfiller had shown promising future in application of the water soluble plastic packaging industry.

  17. Surface-structured bacterial cellulose with guided assembly-based biolithography (GAB).

    PubMed

    Bottan, Simone; Robotti, Francesco; Jayathissa, Prageeth; Hegglin, Alicia; Bahamonde, Nicolas; Heredia-Guerrero, José A; Bayer, Ilker S; Scarpellini, Alice; Merker, Hannes; Lindenblatt, Nicole; Poulikakos, Dimos; Ferrari, Aldo

    2015-01-27

    A powerful replica molding methodology to transfer on-demand functional topographies to the surface of bacterial cellulose nanofiber textures is presented. With this method, termed guided assembly-based biolithography (GAB), a surface-structured polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mold is introduced at the gas-liquid interface of an Acetobacter xylinum culture. Upon bacterial fermentation, the generated bacterial cellulose nanofibers are assembled in a three-dimensional network reproducing the geometric shape imposed by the mold. Additionally, GAB yields directional alignment of individual nanofibers and memory of the transferred geometrical features upon dehydration and rehydration of the substrates. Scanning electron and atomic force microscopy are used to establish the good fidelity of this facile and affordable method. Interaction of surface-structured bacterial cellulose substrates with human fibroblasts and keratinocytes illustrates the efficient control of cellular activities which are fundamental in skin wound healing and tissue regeneration. The deployment of surface-structured bacterial cellulose substrates in model animals as skin wound dressing or body implant further proves the high durability and low inflammatory response to the material over a period of 21 days, demonstrating beneficial effects of surface structure on skin regeneration.

  18. Conductivity percolation in loosely compacted microcrystalline cellulose: An in situ study by dielectric spectroscopy during densification.

    PubMed

    Nilsson, Martin; Frenning, Göran; Gråsjö, Johan; Alderborn, Göran; Strømme, Maria

    2006-10-19

    The present study aims at contributing to a complete understanding of the water-induced ionic charge transport in cellulose. The behavior of this transport in loosely compacted microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) powder was investigated as a function of density utilizing a new type of measurement setup, allowing for dielectric spectroscopy measurement in situ during compaction. The ionic conductivity in MCC was found to increase with increasing density until a leveling-out was observed for densities above approximately 0.7 g/cm3. Further, it was shown that the ionic conductivity vs density followed a percolation type behavior signifying the percolation of conductive paths in a 3D conducting network. The density percolation threshold was found to be between approximately 0.2 and 0.4 g/cm3, depending strongly on the cellulose moisture content. The observed percolation behavior was attributed to the forming of interparticulate bonds in the MCC and the percolation threshold dependence on moisture was linked to the moisture dependence of particle rearrangement and plastic deformation in MCC during compaction. The obtained results add to the understanding of the density-dependent water-induced ionic transport in cellulose showing that, at given moisture content, the two major parameters determining the magnitude of the conductivity are the connectedness of the interparticluate bonds and the connectedness of pores with a diameter in the 5-20 nm size range. At densities between approximately 0.7 and 1.2 g/cm3 both the bond and the pore networks have percolated, facilitating charge transport through the MCC compact.

  19. Isolation and characterization of microcrystalline cellulose from roselle fibers.

    PubMed

    Kian, Lau Kia; Jawaid, Mohammad; Ariffin, Hidayah; Alothman, Othman Y

    2017-10-01

    In this study, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was extracted from roselle fiber through acid hydrolysis treatment and its properties were compared with those of commercially available MCC. The physicochemical and morphological characteristics, elemental composition, size distribution, crystallinity and thermal properties of the obtained MCC were analyzed in this work. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis provided clear evidence that the characteristic peak of lignin was absent in the spectrum of the MCC prepared from roselle fiber. Rough surface and slight aggregation of MCC were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis showed that pure MCC with small quantities of residues and impurities was obtained, with a similar elemental composition to that of commercial MCC. A mean diameter of approximately 44.28μm was measured for MCC by using a particle size analyzer (PSA). X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed the crystallinity increased from 63% in roselle pulp to 78% in roselle MCC, the latter having a slightly higher crystallinity than that of commercial MCC (74%). TGA and DSC results indicated that the roselle MCC had better thermal stability than the roselle pulp, whereas it had poorer thermal stability in comparison with commercial MCC. Thus, the isolated MCC from roselle fibers will be going to use as reinforcing element in green composites and may be a precursor for future roselle derived nanocellulose, and thus a promising subject in nanocomposite research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Production and Status of Bacterial Cellulose in Biomedical Engineering

    PubMed Central

    Moniri, Mona; Boroumand Moghaddam, Amin; Abdul Rahim, Raha; Bin Ariff, Arbakariya; Zuhainis Saad, Wan; Navaderi, Mohammad; Mohamad, Rosfarizan

    2017-01-01

    Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a highly pure and crystalline material generated by aerobic bacteria, which has received significant interest due to its unique physiochemical characteristics in comparison with plant cellulose. BC, alone or in combination with different components (e.g., biopolymers and nanoparticles), can be used for a wide range of applications, such as medical products, electrical instruments, and food ingredients. In recent years, biomedical devices have gained important attention due to the increase in medical engineering products for wound care, regeneration of organs, diagnosis of diseases, and drug transportation. Bacterial cellulose has potential applications across several medical sectors and permits the development of innovative materials. This paper reviews the progress of related research, including overall information about bacterial cellulose, production by microorganisms, mechanisms as well as BC cultivation and its nanocomposites. The latest use of BC in the biomedical field is thoroughly discussed with its applications in both a pure and composite form. This paper concludes the further investigations of BC in the future that are required to make it marketable in vital biomaterials.

  1. Engineering control of bacterial cellulose production using a genetic toolkit and a new cellulose-producing strain

    PubMed Central

    Florea, Michael; Hagemann, Henrik; Santosa, Gabriella; Micklem, Chris N.; Spencer-Milnes, Xenia; de Arroyo Garcia, Laura; Paschou, Despoina; Lazenbatt, Christopher; Kong, Deze; Chughtai, Haroon; Jensen, Kirsten; Freemont, Paul S.; Kitney, Richard; Reeve, Benjamin; Ellis, Tom

    2016-01-01

    Bacterial cellulose is a strong and ultrapure form of cellulose produced naturally by several species of the Acetobacteraceae. Its high strength, purity, and biocompatibility make it of great interest to materials science; however, precise control of its biosynthesis has remained a challenge for biotechnology. Here we isolate a strain of Komagataeibacter rhaeticus (K. rhaeticus iGEM) that can produce cellulose at high yields, grow in low-nitrogen conditions, and is highly resistant to toxic chemicals. We achieved external control over its bacterial cellulose production through development of a modular genetic toolkit that enables rational reprogramming of the cell. To further its use as an organism for biotechnology, we sequenced its genome and demonstrate genetic circuits that enable functionalization and patterning of heterologous gene expression within the cellulose matrix. This work lays the foundations for using genetic engineering to produce cellulose-based materials, with numerous applications in basic science, materials engineering, and biotechnology. PMID:27247386

  2. Engineering control of bacterial cellulose production using a genetic toolkit and a new cellulose-producing strain.

    PubMed

    Florea, Michael; Hagemann, Henrik; Santosa, Gabriella; Abbott, James; Micklem, Chris N; Spencer-Milnes, Xenia; de Arroyo Garcia, Laura; Paschou, Despoina; Lazenbatt, Christopher; Kong, Deze; Chughtai, Haroon; Jensen, Kirsten; Freemont, Paul S; Kitney, Richard; Reeve, Benjamin; Ellis, Tom

    2016-06-14

    Bacterial cellulose is a strong and ultrapure form of cellulose produced naturally by several species of the Acetobacteraceae Its high strength, purity, and biocompatibility make it of great interest to materials science; however, precise control of its biosynthesis has remained a challenge for biotechnology. Here we isolate a strain of Komagataeibacter rhaeticus (K. rhaeticus iGEM) that can produce cellulose at high yields, grow in low-nitrogen conditions, and is highly resistant to toxic chemicals. We achieved external control over its bacterial cellulose production through development of a modular genetic toolkit that enables rational reprogramming of the cell. To further its use as an organism for biotechnology, we sequenced its genome and demonstrate genetic circuits that enable functionalization and patterning of heterologous gene expression within the cellulose matrix. This work lays the foundations for using genetic engineering to produce cellulose-based materials, with numerous applications in basic science, materials engineering, and biotechnology.

  3. Bacterial cellulose biosynthesis: diversity of operons, subunits, products, and functions.

    PubMed

    Römling, Ute; Galperin, Michael Y

    2015-09-01

    Recent studies of bacterial cellulose biosynthesis, including structural characterization of a functional cellulose synthase complex, provided the first mechanistic insight into this fascinating process. In most studied bacteria, just two subunits, BcsA and BcsB, are necessary and sufficient for the formation of the polysaccharide chain in vitro. Other subunits - which differ among various taxa - affect the enzymatic activity and product yield in vivo by modulating (i) the expression of the biosynthesis apparatus, (ii) the export of the nascent β-D-glucan polymer to the cell surface, and (iii) the organization of cellulose fibers into a higher-order structure. These auxiliary subunits play key roles in determining the quantity and structure of resulting biofilms, which is particularly important for the interactions of bacteria with higher organisms - leading to rhizosphere colonization and modulating the virulence of cellulose-producing bacterial pathogens inside and outside of host cells. We review the organization of four principal types of cellulose synthase operon found in various bacterial genomes, identify additional bcs genes that encode components of the cellulose biosynthesis and secretion machinery, and propose a unified nomenclature for these genes and subunits. We also discuss the role of cellulose as a key component of biofilms and in the choice between acute infection and persistence in the host. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Bacterial cellulose biosynthesis: diversity of operons, subunits, products and functions

    PubMed Central

    Römling, Ute; Galperin, Michael Y.

    2015-01-01

    Summary Recent studies of bacterial cellulose biosynthesis, including structural characterization of a functional cellulose synthase complex, provided the first mechanistic insight into this fascinating process. In most studied bacteria, just two subunits, BcsA and BcsB, are necessary and sufficient for the formation of the polysaccharide chain in vitro. Other subunits – which differ among various taxa – affect the enzymatic activity and product yield in vivo by modulating expression of biosynthesis apparatus, export of the nascent β-D-glucan polymer to the cell surface, and the organization of cellulose fibers into a higher-order structure. These auxiliary subunits play key roles in determining the quantity and structure of the resulting biofilm, which is particularly important for interactions of bacteria with higher organisms that lead to rhizosphere colonization and modulate virulence of cellulose-producing bacterial pathogens inside and outside of host cells. Here we review the organization of four principal types of cellulose synthase operons found in various bacterial genomes, identify additional bcs genes that encode likely components of the cellulose biosynthesis and secretion machinery, and propose a unified nomenclature for these genes and subunits. We also discuss the role of cellulose as a key component of biofilms formed by a variety of free-living and pathogenic bacteria and, for the latter, in the choice between acute infection and persistence in the host. PMID:26077867

  5. Bacterial cellulose membrane as separation medium

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Shibazaki, Hideki; Kuga, Shigenori; Onabe, Fumihiko

    1993-11-10

    A thin membrane of bacterial cellulose (BC) obtained from Acetobacter culture was tested for its performance as a dialysis membrane in aqueous systems. The BC membrane showed superior mechanical strength to that of a dialysis-grade regenerated cellulose membrane, allowing the use of a thinner membrane than the latter. As a result, the BC membrane gave higher permeation rates for poly(ethylene glycols) as probe solutes. The cutoff molecular weight of the original BC membrane, significantly greater than that of regenerated cellulose, could be modified by concentrated alkali treatments of the membrane. The nature of the change at the ultrastructural level causedmore » by the alkali treatments was studied by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy.« less

  6. A study of the properties of compacts from silicified microcrystalline celluloses.

    PubMed

    Muzíková, Jitka; Nováková, Petra

    2007-07-01

    The paper deals with a study of tensile strength and disintegration time of compacts made from silicified microcrystalline celluloses, Prosolv SMCC 90, and Prosolv HD 90, in dependence on compression force, addition of two types of lubricants, and two active ingredients. The lubricants were magnesium stearate and sodium stearyl fumarate in a concentration of 0.5%, the active ingredients being ascorbic acid and acetylsalicylic acid in a concentration of 50%. Prosolv SMCC 90 proved to be better compatible than Prosolv HD 90; the compacts were of higher strength, which was markedly increased with increasing compression force. Prosolv HD 90 was more sensitive to additions of lubricants, and a greater decrease in strength was recorded due to the influence of sodium stearyl fumarate. The effect of lubricants on the strength of compacts in the presence of active ingredients was not identical. The disintegration time of compacts from Prosolv HD 90 without as well as with lubricants was shorter than from Prosolv SMCC 90 and was increasing with increasing compression force. Disintegration time was increased with added lubricants, and it was markedly shortened by addition of active ingredients. Compacts containing ascorbic acid possessed a shorter disintegration time than those containing acetylsalicylic acid, and it was not markedly influenced by the presence of lubricants.

  7. Drug release from nanoparticles embedded in four different nanofibrillar cellulose aerogels.

    PubMed

    Valo, Hanna; Arola, Suvi; Laaksonen, Päivi; Torkkeli, Mika; Peltonen, Leena; Linder, Markus B; Serimaa, Ritva; Kuga, Shigenori; Hirvonen, Jouni; Laaksonen, Timo

    2013-09-27

    Highly porous nanocellulose aerogels prepared by freeze-drying from various nanofibrillar cellulose (NFC) hydrogels are introduced as nanoparticle reservoirs for oral drug delivery systems. Here we show that beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) nanoparticles coated with amphiphilic hydrophobin proteins can be well integrated into the NFC aerogels. NFCs from four different origins are introduced and compared to microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). The nanocellulose aerogel scaffolds made from red pepper (RC) and MCC release the drug immediately, while bacterial cellulose (BC), quince seed (QC) and TEMPO-oxidized birch cellulose-based (TC) aerogels show sustained drug release. Since the release of the drug is controlled by the structure and interactions between the nanoparticles and the cellulose matrix, modulation of the matrix formers enable a control of the drug release rate. These nanocomposite structures can be very useful in many pharmaceutical nanoparticle applications and open up new possibilities as carriers for controlled drug delivery. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Enhanced cellulose degradation using cellulase-nanosphere complexes.

    PubMed

    Blanchette, Craig; Lacayo, Catherine I; Fischer, Nicholas O; Hwang, Mona; Thelen, Michael P

    2012-01-01

    Enzyme catalyzed conversion of plant biomass to sugars is an inherently inefficient process, and one of the major factors limiting economical biofuel production. This is due to the physical barrier presented by polymers in plant cell walls, including semi-crystalline cellulose, to soluble enzyme accessibility. In contrast to the enzymes currently used in industry, bacterial cellulosomes organize cellulases and other proteins in a scaffold structure, and are highly efficient in degrading cellulose. To mimic this clustered assembly of enzymes, we conjugated cellulase obtained from Trichoderma viride to polystyrene nanospheres (cellulase:NS) and tested the hydrolytic activity of this complex on cellulose substrates from purified and natural sources. Cellulase:NS and free cellulase were equally active on soluble carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC); however, the complexed enzyme displayed a higher affinity in its action on microcrystalline cellulose. Similarly, we found that the cellulase:NS complex was more efficient in degrading natural cellulose structures in the thickened walls of cultured wood cells. These results suggest that nanoparticle-bound enzymes can improve catalytic efficiency on physically intractable substrates. We discuss the potential for further enhancement of cellulose degradation by physically clustering combinations of different glycosyl hydrolase enzymes, and applications for using cellulase:NS complexes in biofuel production.

  9. Enhanced Cellulose Degradation Using Cellulase-Nanosphere Complexes

    PubMed Central

    Blanchette, Craig; Lacayo, Catherine I.; Fischer, Nicholas O.; Hwang, Mona; Thelen, Michael P.

    2012-01-01

    Enzyme catalyzed conversion of plant biomass to sugars is an inherently inefficient process, and one of the major factors limiting economical biofuel production. This is due to the physical barrier presented by polymers in plant cell walls, including semi-crystalline cellulose, to soluble enzyme accessibility. In contrast to the enzymes currently used in industry, bacterial cellulosomes organize cellulases and other proteins in a scaffold structure, and are highly efficient in degrading cellulose. To mimic this clustered assembly of enzymes, we conjugated cellulase obtained from Trichoderma viride to polystyrene nanospheres (cellulase:NS) and tested the hydrolytic activity of this complex on cellulose substrates from purified and natural sources. Cellulase:NS and free cellulase were equally active on soluble carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC); however, the complexed enzyme displayed a higher affinity in its action on microcrystalline cellulose. Similarly, we found that the cellulase:NS complex was more efficient in degrading natural cellulose structures in the thickened walls of cultured wood cells. These results suggest that nanoparticle-bound enzymes can improve catalytic efficiency on physically intractable substrates. We discuss the potential for further enhancement of cellulose degradation by physically clustering combinations of different glycosyl hydrolase enzymes, and applications for using cellulase:NS complexes in biofuel production. PMID:22870287

  10. Evaluation of several microcrystalline celluloses obtained from agricultural by-products

    PubMed Central

    Rojas, John; Lopez, Alvin; Guisao, Santiago; Ortiz, Carlos

    2011-01-01

    Microcrystalline cellulose (MCCI) has been widely used as an excipient for direct compression due to its good flowability, compressibility, and compactibility. In this study, MCCI was obtained from agricultural by-products, such as corn cob, sugar cane bagasse, rice husk, and cotton by pursuing acid hydrolysis, neutralization, clarification, and drying steps. Further, infrared spectroscopy (IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscopy, degree of polymerization (DP), and powder and tableting properties were evaluated and compared to those of Avicel PH101, Avicel PH102, and Avicel PH200. Except for the commercial products, all materials showed a DP from 55 to 97. Particles of commercial products and corn cob had an irregular shape, whereas bagasse particles were elongated and thick. Rice and cotton particles exhibited a flake-like and fiber-like shape, respectively. MCCI as obtained from rice husk and cotton was the most densified material, while that produced from corn cob and bagasse was bulky, porous, and more compressible. All products had a moisture content of less than 10% and yields from 7.4% to 60.4%. MCCI as obtained from bagasse was the most porous and compressible material among all materials. This product also showed the best tableting properties along with Avicel products. Likewise, all MCCI products obtained from the above-mentioned sources showed a more rapid disintegration time than that of Avicel products. These materials can be used as a potential source of MCCI in the production of solid dosage forms. PMID:22171310

  11. Isolation of bacterial cellulose nanocrystalline from pineapple peel waste: Optimization of acid concentration in the hydrolysis method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anwar, Budiman; Rosyid, Nurul Huda; Effendi, Devi Bentia; Nandiyanto, Asep Bayu Dani; Mudzakir, Ahmad; Hidayat, Topik

    2016-02-01

    Isolation of needle-shaped bacterial cellulose nanocrystalline with a diameter of 16-64 nm, a fiber length of 258-806 nm, and a degree of crystallinity of 64% from pineapple peel waste using an acid hydrolysis process was investigated. Experimental showed that selective concentration of acid played important roles in isolating the bacterial cellulose nanocrystalline from the cellulose source. To achieve the successful isolation of bacterial cellulose nanocrystalline, various acid concentrations were tested. To confirm the effect of acid concentration on the successful isolation process, the reaction conditions were fixed at a temperature of 50°C, a hydrolysis time of 30 minutes, and a bacterial cellulose-to-acid ratio of 1:50. Pineapple peel waste was used as a model for a cellulose source because to the best of our knowledge, there is no report on the use of this raw material for producing bacterial cellulose nanocrystalline. In fact, this material can be used as an alternative for ecofriendly and cost-free cellulose sources. Therefore, understanding in how to isolate bacterial cellulose nanocrystalline from pineapple peel waste has the potential for large-scale production of inexpensive cellulose nanocrystalline.

  12. Thin Layer Drying Model of Bacterial Cellulose Film

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hadi Jatmiko, Tri; Taufika Rosyida, Vita; Wheni Indrianingsih, Anastasia; Apriyana, Wuri

    2017-12-01

    The bacterial cellulose film produced by Acetobacter xylinum using coconut water as a carbon source was dried at a temperature of 60 to 100 C. The drying process of bacterial cellulose film occur at falling rate drying period. Increasing drying temperature will shorten the drying time. The drying data fitted with thin layer drying models that widely used, Newton, Page and Henderson and Pabis models. All thin layer drying models describe the experimental data well, but Page model is better than the other models on all various temperature with coefficients of determination (R2) range from 0.9908 to 0.9979, chi square range from 0.000212 to 0.000851 and RMSE range from 0.014307 to 0.0289458.

  13. Cellulose- and xylan-degrading thermophilic anaerobic bacteria from biocompost.

    PubMed

    Sizova, M V; Izquierdo, J A; Panikov, N S; Lynd, L R

    2011-04-01

    Nine thermophilic cellulolytic clostridial isolates and four other noncellulolytic bacterial isolates were isolated from self-heated biocompost via preliminary enrichment culture on microcrystalline cellulose. All cellulolytic isolates grew vigorously on cellulose, with the formation of either ethanol and acetate or acetate and formate as principal fermentation products as well as lactate and glycerol as minor products. In addition, two out of nine cellulolytic strains were able to utilize xylan and pretreated wood with roughly the same efficiency as for cellulose. The major products of xylan fermentation were acetate and formate, with minor contributions of lactate and ethanol. Phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA and glycosyl hydrolase family 48 (GH48) gene sequences revealed that two xylan-utilizing isolates were related to a Clostridium clariflavum strain and represent a distinct novel branch within the GH48 family. Both isolates possessed high cellulase and xylanase activity induced independently by either cellulose or xylan. Enzymatic activity decayed after growth cessation, with more-rapid disappearance of cellulase activity than of xylanase activity. A mixture of xylan and cellulose was utilized simultaneously, with a significant synergistic effect observed as a reduction of lag phase in cellulose degradation.

  14. Increased Antibiotic Release from a Bone Cement Containing Bacterial Cellulose

    PubMed Central

    Nakai, Takahisa; Enomoto, Koichi; Uchio, Yuji; Yoshino, Katsumi

    2010-01-01

    Background Major disadvantages of antibiotic bone cements include limited drug release and reduced strength resulting from the addition of high doses of antibiotics. Bacterial cellulose, a three-dimensional hydrophilic mesh, may retain antibiotics and release them gradually. We hypothesized that the addition of cellulose to antibiotic bone cement would improve mechanical strength and antibiotic release. Questions/purposes We therefore examined the mechanical strength and antibiotic release of cellulose antibiotic cement. Methods A high dose of antibiotics (5 g per 40 g cement powder) was incorporated into bacterial cellulose and then mixed with bone cement. We compared the compression strength, fracture toughness, fatigue life, and elution kinetics of this formulation with those of plain cement and a traditional antibiotic cement. Results The average values for compression strength, fracture toughness, and fatigue life of the cellulose antibiotic cement were 97%, 97%, and 78% of the values obtained for plain cement, respectively. The corresponding values for the traditional antibiotic cement were 79%, 82%, and 17%, respectively. The cumulative elution over 35 days was 129% greater from the cellulose antibiotic cement than from the traditional antibiotic cement. Conclusions With a high dose of antibiotics, incorporating cellulose into the bone cement prevented compression and fracture fragility, improved fatigue life, and increased antibiotic elution. Clinical Relevance Antibiotic cements containing cellulose may have applications in clinical situations that require high levels of antibiotic release and preservation of the mechanical properties of the cement. PMID:20945120

  15. Extraction of cellulose microcrystalline from galam wood for biopolymer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ismail, Ika; Sa'adiyah, Devy; Rahajeng, Putri; Suprayitno, Abdi; Andiana, Rocky

    2018-04-01

    Consumption of plastic raw materials tends to increase, but until now the meet of the consumption of plastic raw are still low, even some are still imported. Nowadays, Indonesia's plastic needs are supported by petrochemicals where raw materials are still dependent abroad and petropolymer raw materials are derived from petroleum which will soon be depleted due to rising petroleum needs. Therefore, various studies have been conducted to develop natural fiber-based polymers that are biodegradable and abundant in nature. It is because the natural polymer production process is very efficient and very environmentally friendly. There have been many studies of biopolymers especially natural fiber-based polymers from plants, due to plants containing cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. However, cellulose is the only one who has crystalline structures. Cellulose has a high crystality compared to amorphous lignin and hemicellulose. In this study, extracted cellulose as biopolymer and amplifier on composite. The cellulose is extracted from galam wood from East Kalimantan. Cellulose extraction will be obtained in nano / micro form through chemical and mechanical treatment processes. The chemical treatment of cellulose extraction is alkalinization process using NaOH solution, bleaching using NaClO2 and acid hydrolysis using sulfuric acid. After chemical treatment, ultrasonic mechanical treatment is made to make cellulose fibers into micro or nano size. Besides, cellulose results will be characterized. Characterization was performed to analyze molecules of cellulose compounds extracted from plants using Fourier Transformation Infra Red (FTIR) testing. XRD testing to analyze cellulose crystallinity. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) test to analyze morphology and fiber size.

  16. Cost-effective production of bacterial cellulose using acidic food industry by-products.

    PubMed

    Revin, Victor; Liyaskina, Elena; Nazarkina, Maria; Bogatyreva, Alena; Shchankin, Mikhail

    2018-03-13

    To reduce the cost of obtaining bacterial cellulose, acidic by-products of the alcohol and dairy industries were used without any pretreatment or addition of other nitrogen sources. Studies have shown that the greatest accumulation of bacterial cellulose (6.19g/L) occurs on wheat thin stillage for 3 days of cultivation under dynamic conditions, which is almost 3 times higher than on standard Hestrin and Schramm medium (2.14g/L). The use of whey as a nutrient medium makes it possible to obtain 5.45g/L bacterial cellulose under similar conditions of cultivation. It is established that the pH of the medium during the growth of Gluconacetobacter sucrofermentans B-11267 depends on the feedstock used and its initial value. By culturing the bacterium on thin stillage and whey, there is a decrease in the acidity of the waste. It is shown that the infrared spectra of bacterial cellulose obtained in a variety of environments have a similar character, but we found differences in the micromorphology and crystallinity of the resulting biopolymer. Copyright © 2018 Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  17. BcsA and BcsB form the catalytically active core of bacterial cellulose synthase sufficient for in vitro cellulose synthesis.

    PubMed

    Omadjela, Okako; Narahari, Adishesh; Strumillo, Joanna; Mélida, Hugo; Mazur, Olga; Bulone, Vincent; Zimmer, Jochen

    2013-10-29

    Cellulose is a linear extracellular polysaccharide. It is synthesized by membrane-embedded glycosyltransferases that processively polymerize UDP-activated glucose. Polymer synthesis is coupled to membrane translocation through a channel formed by the cellulose synthase. Although eukaryotic cellulose synthases function in macromolecular complexes containing several different enzyme isoforms, prokaryotic synthases associate with additional subunits to bridge the periplasm and the outer membrane. In bacteria, cellulose synthesis and translocation is catalyzed by the inner membrane-associated bacterial cellulose synthase (Bcs)A and BcsB subunits. Similar to alginate and poly-β-1,6 N-acetylglucosamine, bacterial cellulose is implicated in the formation of sessile bacterial communities, termed biofilms, and its synthesis is likewise stimulated by cyclic-di-GMP. Biochemical studies of exopolysaccharide synthesis are hampered by difficulties in purifying and reconstituting functional enzymes. We demonstrate robust in vitro cellulose synthesis reconstituted from purified BcsA and BcsB proteins from Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Although BcsA is the catalytically active subunit, the membrane-anchored BcsB subunit is essential for catalysis. The purified BcsA-B complex produces cellulose chains of a degree of polymerization in the range 200-300. Catalytic activity critically depends on the presence of the allosteric activator cyclic-di-GMP, but is independent of lipid-linked reactants. Our data reveal feedback inhibition of cellulose synthase by UDP but not by the accumulating cellulose polymer and highlight the strict substrate specificity of cellulose synthase for UDP-glucose. A truncation analysis of BcsB localizes the region required for activity of BcsA within its C-terminal membrane-associated domain. The reconstituted reaction provides a foundation for the synthesis of biofilm exopolysaccharides, as well as its activation by cyclic-di-GMP.

  18. BcsA and BcsB form the catalytically active core of bacterial cellulose synthase sufficient for in vitro cellulose synthesis

    PubMed Central

    Omadjela, Okako; Narahari, Adishesh; Strumillo, Joanna; Mélida, Hugo; Mazur, Olga; Bulone, Vincent; Zimmer, Jochen

    2013-01-01

    Cellulose is a linear extracellular polysaccharide. It is synthesized by membrane-embedded glycosyltransferases that processively polymerize UDP-activated glucose. Polymer synthesis is coupled to membrane translocation through a channel formed by the cellulose synthase. Although eukaryotic cellulose synthases function in macromolecular complexes containing several different enzyme isoforms, prokaryotic synthases associate with additional subunits to bridge the periplasm and the outer membrane. In bacteria, cellulose synthesis and translocation is catalyzed by the inner membrane-associated bacterial cellulose synthase (Bcs)A and BcsB subunits. Similar to alginate and poly-β-1,6 N-acetylglucosamine, bacterial cellulose is implicated in the formation of sessile bacterial communities, termed biofilms, and its synthesis is likewise stimulated by cyclic-di-GMP. Biochemical studies of exopolysaccharide synthesis are hampered by difficulties in purifying and reconstituting functional enzymes. We demonstrate robust in vitro cellulose synthesis reconstituted from purified BcsA and BcsB proteins from Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Although BcsA is the catalytically active subunit, the membrane-anchored BcsB subunit is essential for catalysis. The purified BcsA-B complex produces cellulose chains of a degree of polymerization in the range 200–300. Catalytic activity critically depends on the presence of the allosteric activator cyclic-di-GMP, but is independent of lipid-linked reactants. Our data reveal feedback inhibition of cellulose synthase by UDP but not by the accumulating cellulose polymer and highlight the strict substrate specificity of cellulose synthase for UDP-glucose. A truncation analysis of BcsB localizes the region required for activity of BcsA within its C-terminal membrane-associated domain. The reconstituted reaction provides a foundation for the synthesis of biofilm exopolysaccharides, as well as its activation by cyclic-di-GMP. PMID:24127606

  19. Cellulose utilization in forest litter and soil: identification of bacterial and fungal decomposers.

    PubMed

    Stursová, Martina; Zifčáková, Lucia; Leigh, Mary Beth; Burgess, Robert; Baldrian, Petr

    2012-06-01

    Organic matter decomposition in the globally widespread coniferous forests has an important role in the carbon cycle, and cellulose decomposition is especially important in this respect because cellulose is the most abundant polysaccharide in plant litter. Cellulose decomposition was 10 times faster in the fungi-dominated litter of Picea abies forest than in the bacteria-dominated soil. In the soil, the added (13)C-labelled cellulose was the main source of microbial respiration and was preferentially accumulated in the fungal biomass and cellulose induced fungal proliferation. In contrast, in the litter, bacterial biomass showed higher labelling after (13)C-cellulose addition and bacterial biomass increased. While 80% of the total community was represented by 104-106 bacterial and 33-59 fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs), 80% of the cellulolytic communities of bacteria and fungi were only composed of 8-18 highly abundant OTUs. Both the total and (13)C-labelled communities differed substantially between the litter and soil. Cellulolytic bacteria in the acidic topsoil included Betaproteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Acidobacteria, whereas these typically found in neutral soils were absent. Most fungal cellulose decomposers belonged to Ascomycota; cellulolytic Basidiomycota were mainly represented by the yeasts Trichosporon and Cryptococcus. Several bacteria and fungi demonstrated here to derive their carbon from cellulose were previously not recognized as cellulolytic. © 2012 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. The effect of bacterial cellulose on the shape memory behavior of polyvinyl alcohol nanocomposite hydrogel

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pirahmadi, Pegah; Kokabi, Mehrdad

    2018-01-01

    Most research on shape memory polymers has been confined to neat polymers in their dry state, while, some hydrogel networks are known for their shape memory properties. Hydrogels have low glass transition temperatures which are below 100°C depend on the content of water. But they are usually weak and brittle, and not suitable for structural applications due to their low mechanical strengths because of these materials have large amount of water (>50%), so they could not remember original shape perfectly. Bacterial cellulose nanofibers with perfect properties such as high water holding capacity, high crystallinity, high tensile strength and good biocompatibility can dismiss all the drawbacks. In the present study, polyvinyl alcohol/bacterial cellulose nanocomposite hydrogel prepared by repetitive freezing-thawing method. The bacterial cellulose was used as reinforcement to improve the mechanical properties and stimuli response. Differential scanning calorimetry was employed to obtain the glass transition temperature. Nanocomposite morphology was characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy and mechanical properties were investigated by standard tensile test. Finally, the effect of bacterial cellulose nanofiber on shape memory behavior of polyvinyl alcohol/bacterial cellulose nanocomposite hydrogel was investigated. It is found that switching temperature of this system is the glass transition temperature of the nano domains formed within the system. The results also show increase of shape recovery, and shape recovery speed due to presence of bacterial cellulose.

  1. Chromosphores in cellulosics, XI: isoloation and identification of residual chromophores from bacterial cellulose

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    In the present work, bacterial cellulose (BC) was analyzed for its chromophore content with the chromophore release and identification (CRI) method. In aged BC, seven chromophores were unambiguously identified, despite their very low (ppb) presence. The compounds contain 2-hydroxy-[1,4]benzoquinone,...

  2. Genome sequence and plasmid transformation of the model high-yield bacterial cellulose producer Gluconacetobacter hansenii ATCC 53582

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Florea, Michael; Reeve, Benjamin; Abbott, James; Freemont, Paul S.; Ellis, Tom

    2016-03-01

    Bacterial cellulose is a strong, highly pure form of cellulose that is used in a range of applications in industry, consumer goods and medicine. Gluconacetobacter hansenii ATCC 53582 is one of the highest reported bacterial cellulose producing strains and has been used as a model organism in numerous studies of bacterial cellulose production and studies aiming to increased cellulose productivity. Here we present a high-quality draft genome sequence for G. hansenii ATCC 53582 and find that in addition to the previously described cellulose synthase operon, ATCC 53582 contains two additional cellulose synthase operons and several previously undescribed genes associated with cellulose production. In parallel, we also develop optimized protocols and identify plasmid backbones suitable for transformation of ATCC 53582, albeit with low efficiencies. Together, these results provide important information for further studies into cellulose synthesis and for future studies aiming to genetically engineer G. hansenii ATCC 53582 for increased cellulose productivity.

  3. Permeation study through bacterial cellulose membrane.

    PubMed

    Wu, Chengdong; Murtaza, Ghulam; Yameen, Muhammad Arfat; Aamir, Muhammad Naeem; Akhtar, Muhammad; Zhao, Yuhao

    2014-01-01

    Abstract: The objective of this study was to fabricate topical formulations of diclofenac diethylamine (DD) using isopropyl myristate (IPM) and isopropyl palmitate (IPP) as permeation enhancers. Franz cell and bacterial cellulose were used as analytical instrument and diffusion membrane, respectively. Permeation enhancers exhibited significant effect on the permeation characteristics of DD. It was concluded from the results that improved permeation of DD was observed when IPP was used as enhancer.

  4. Nanostructural reorganization of bacterial cellulose by ultrasonic treatment.

    PubMed

    Tischer, Paula C S Faria; Sierakowski, Maria Rita; Westfahl, Harry; Tischer, Cesar Augusto

    2010-05-10

    In this work, bacterial cellulose was subjected to a high-power ultrasonic treatment for different time intervals. The morphological analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy revealed that this treatment changed the width and height of the microfibrillar ribbons and roughness of their surface, originating films with new nanostructures. Differential thermal analysis showed a higher thermal stability for ultrasonicated samples with a pyrolysis onset temperature of 208 degrees C for native bacterial cellulose and 250 and 268 degrees C for the modified samples. The small-angle X-ray scattering experiments demonstrated that the treatment with ultrasound increased the thickness of the ribbons, while wide-angle X-ray scattering experiments demonstrated that the average crystallite dimension and the degree of crystallinity also increased. A model is proposed where the thicker ribbons and crystallites result from the fusion of neighboring ribbons due to cavitation effects.

  5. Effect of γ irradiation on poly(vinyl alcohol) and bacterial cellulose composites used as packaging materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stoica-Guzun, Anicuta; Stroescu, Marta; Jipa, Iuliana; Dobre, Loredana; Zaharescu, Traian

    2013-03-01

    The aim of this paper is to present the influence of bacterial cellulose microfibrils and γ-radiation dose on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-bacterial cellulose (BC) composites. Two composite materials were obtained: the first one from PVA aqueous solution 4% and 5% wet bacterial cellulose and the second from the same PVA solution and 10% wet bacterial cellulose. In terms of PVA/dry BC ratios (w/w) for these films the ratios are 1/0.025 and 1/0.050. The obtained composite materials were characterized by infrared spectroscopy with Fourier transform (FT-IR) and UV-vis spectroscopy in order to evaluate the irradiation effect on their stability. The swelling behavior of the polymeric composites was also studied. The composite materials were compared with a film of pure PVA and a dry BC membrane.

  6. High performance cellulose nanocomposites: comparing the reinforcing ability of bacterial cellulose and nanofibrillated cellulose.

    PubMed

    Lee, Koon-Yang; Tammelin, Tekla; Schulfter, Kerstin; Kiiskinen, Harri; Samela, Juha; Bismarck, Alexander

    2012-08-01

    This work investigates the surface and bulk properties of nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) and bacterial cellulose (BC), as well as their reinforcing ability in polymer nanocomposites. BC possesses higher critical surface tension of 57 mN m(-1) compared to NFC (41 mN m(-1)). The thermal degradation temperature in both nitrogen and air atmosphere of BC was also found to be higher than that of NFC. These results are in good agreement with the higher crystallinity of BC as determined by XRD, measured to be 71% for BC as compared to NFC of 41%. Nanocellulose papers were prepared from BC and NFC. Both papers possessed similar tensile moduli and strengths of 12 GPa and 110 MPa, respectively. Nanocomposites were manufactured by impregnating the nanocellulose paper with an epoxy resin using vacuum assisted resin infusion. The cellulose reinforced epoxy nanocomposites had a stiffness and strength of approximately ∼8 GPa and ∼100 MPa at an equivalent fiber volume fraction of 60 vol.-%. In terms of the reinforcing ability of NFC and BC in a polymer matrix, no significant difference between NFC and BC was observed.

  7. Mussel-inspired fabrication of konjac glucomannan/microcrystalline cellulose intelligent hydrogel with pH-responsive sustained release behavior.

    PubMed

    Wang, Lin; Du, Yu; Yuan, Yi; Mu, Ruo-Jun; Gong, Jingni; Ni, Yongsheng; Pang, Jie; Wu, Chunhua

    2018-07-01

    Intelligent hydrogels are attractive biomaterials for various applications, however, fabricating a hydrogel with both adequate self-healing ability and mechanical properties remains a challenge. Herein, a series of novel intelligent konjac glucomannan (KGM)/microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) hydrogels were prepared vis the mussel-inspired chemistry. MCC was firstly functionalized by the oxidative polymerization of dopamine, and the intelligent hydrogels were obtained by mixing aqueous solutions of KGM and functionalized MCC (PDMCC). By introducing PDMCC, a more compact interconnected porous structure formed for the resulting hydrogels. The self-healing ability and mechanical properties of intelligent hydrogels were dependence on the PDMCC content. Compared with KGM hydrogels, KGM/PDMCC hydrogels exhibited a more distinct pH sensitivity and a lower initial burst release, which was attributed to the compact structure and strong intermolecular hydrogen bond interaction between PDMCC and KGM. These results suggest that the KGM/PDMCC intelligent hydrogels may be promising carriers for controlled drug delivery. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Preparation and Properties of a Novel Microcrystalline Cellulose-Filled Composites Based on Polyamide 6/High-Density Polyethylene

    PubMed Central

    Xu, Shihua; Yi, Shunmin; He, Jun; Wang, Haigang; Fang, Yiqun; Wang, Qingwen

    2017-01-01

    In the present study, lithium chloride (LiCl) was utilized as a modifier to reduce the melting point of polyamide 6 (PA6), and then 15 wt % microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was compounded with low melting point PA6/high-density polyethylene (HDPE) by hot pressing. Crystallization analysis revealed that as little as 3 wt % LiCl transformed the crystallographic forms of PA6 from semi-crystalline to an amorphous state (melting point: 220 °C to none), which sharply reduced the processing temperature of the composites. LiCl improved the mechanical properties of the composites, as evidenced by the fact that the impact strength of the composites was increased by 90%. HDPE increased the impact strength of PA6/MCC composites. In addition, morphological analysis revealed that incorporation of LiCl and maleic anhydride grafted high-density polyethylene (MAPE) improved the interfacial adhesion. LiCl increased the glass transition temperature of the composites (the maximum is 72.6 °C). PMID:28773169

  9. A Novel Platform for Evaluating the Environmental Impacts on Bacterial Cellulose Production.

    PubMed

    Basu, Anindya; Vadanan, Sundaravadanam Vishnu; Lim, Sierin

    2018-04-10

    Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a biocompatible material with versatile applications. However, its large-scale production is challenged by the limited biological knowledge of the bacteria. The advent of synthetic biology has lead the way to the development of BC producing microbes as a novel chassis. Hence, investigation on optimal growth conditions for BC production and understanding of the fundamental biological processes are imperative. In this study, we report a novel analytical platform that can be used for studying the biology and optimizing growth conditions of cellulose producing bacteria. The platform is based on surface growth pattern of the organism and allows us to confirm that cellulose fibrils produced by the bacteria play a pivotal role towards their chemotaxis. The platform efficiently determines the impacts of different growth conditions on cellulose production and is translatable to static culture conditions. The analytical platform provides a means for fundamental biological studies of bacteria chemotaxis as well as systematic approach towards rational design and development of scalable bioprocessing strategies for industrial production of bacterial cellulose.

  10. Bacterial Cellulose (BC) as a Functional Nanocomposite Biomaterial

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nandgaonkar, Avinav Ghanashyam

    Cellulosic is the most abundant biopolymer in the landscape and can be found in many different organisms. It has been already seen use in the medical field, for example cotton for wound dressings and sutures. Although cellulose is naturally occurring and has found a number of applications inside and outside of the medical field, it is not typically produced in its pure state. A lengthy process is required to separate the lignin, hemicelluloses and other molecules from the cellulose in most renewables (wood, agricultural fibers such as cotton, monocots, grasses, etc.). Although bacterial cellulose has a similar chemical structure to plant cellulose, it is easier to process because of the absence of lignin and hemicelluloses which require a lot of energy and chemicals for removal. Bacterial cellulose (BC) is produced from various species of bacteria such as Gluconacetobacter xylinus. Due to its high water uptake, it has the tendency to form gels. It displays high tensile strength, biocompatibility, and purity compared to wood cellulose. It has found applications in fields such as paper, paper products, audio components (e.g., speaker diaphragms), flexible electronics, supercapacitors, electronics, and soft tissue engineering. In my dissertation, we have functionalized and studied BC-based materials for three specific applications: cartilage tissue engineering, bioelectronics, and dye degradation. In our first study, we prepared a highly organized porous material based on BC by unidirectional freezing followed by a freeze-drying process. Chitosan was added to impart additional properties to the resulting BC-based scaffolds that were evaluated in terms of their morphological, chemical, and physical properties for cartilage tissue engineering. The properties of the resulting scaffold were tailored by adjusting the concentration of chitosan over 1, 1.5, and 2 % (by wt-%). The scaffolds containing chitosan showed excellent shape recovery and structural stability after

  11. Progressive structural changes of Avicel, bleached softwood, and bacterial cellulose during enzymatic hydrolysis

    DOE PAGES

    Kafle, Kabindra; Shin, Heenae; Lee, Christopher M.; ...

    2015-10-14

    A comprehensive picture of structural changes of cellulosic biomass during enzymatic hydrolysis is essential for a better understanding of enzymatic actions and development of more efficient enzymes. In this study, a suite of analytical techniques including sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed for lignin-free model biomass samples—Avicel, bleached softwood, and bacterial cellulose—to find correlations between the decrease in hydrolysis rate over time and the structural or chemical changes of biomass during the hydrolysis reaction. The results showed that the decrease in hydrolysis rate over time appears to correlatemore » with the irreversible deposition of non-cellulosic species (either reaction side products or denatured enzymes, or both) on the cellulosic substrate surface. The crystallinity, degree of polymerization, and meso-scale packing of cellulose do not seem to positively correlate with the decrease in hydrolysis rate observed for all three substrates tested in this study. Moreover, it was also found that the cellulose Iα component of the bacterial cellulose is preferentially hydrolyzed by the enzyme than the cellulose Iβ component.« less

  12. Progressive structural changes of Avicel, bleached softwood, and bacterial cellulose during enzymatic hydrolysis

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kafle, Kabindra; Shin, Heenae; Lee, Christopher M.

    A comprehensive picture of structural changes of cellulosic biomass during enzymatic hydrolysis is essential for a better understanding of enzymatic actions and development of more efficient enzymes. In this study, a suite of analytical techniques including sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed for lignin-free model biomass samples—Avicel, bleached softwood, and bacterial cellulose—to find correlations between the decrease in hydrolysis rate over time and the structural or chemical changes of biomass during the hydrolysis reaction. The results showed that the decrease in hydrolysis rate over time appears to correlatemore » with the irreversible deposition of non-cellulosic species (either reaction side products or denatured enzymes, or both) on the cellulosic substrate surface. The crystallinity, degree of polymerization, and meso-scale packing of cellulose do not seem to positively correlate with the decrease in hydrolysis rate observed for all three substrates tested in this study. It was also found that the cellulose Iα component of the bacterial cellulose is preferentially hydrolyzed by the enzyme than the cellulose Iβ component.« less

  13. Progressive structural changes of Avicel, bleached softwood, and bacterial cellulose during enzymatic hydrolysis

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kafle, Kabindra; Shin, Heenae; Lee, Christopher M.

    A comprehensive picture of structural changes of cellulosic biomass during enzymatic hydrolysis is essential for a better understanding of enzymatic actions and development of more efficient enzymes. In this study, a suite of analytical techniques including sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed for lignin-free model biomass samples—Avicel, bleached softwood, and bacterial cellulose—to find correlations between the decrease in hydrolysis rate over time and the structural or chemical changes of biomass during the hydrolysis reaction. The results showed that the decrease in hydrolysis rate over time appears to correlatemore » with the irreversible deposition of non-cellulosic species (either reaction side products or denatured enzymes, or both) on the cellulosic substrate surface. The crystallinity, degree of polymerization, and meso-scale packing of cellulose do not seem to positively correlate with the decrease in hydrolysis rate observed for all three substrates tested in this study. Moreover, it was also found that the cellulose Iα component of the bacterial cellulose is preferentially hydrolyzed by the enzyme than the cellulose Iβ component.« less

  14. Progressive structural changes of Avicel, bleached softwood, and bacterial cellulose during enzymatic hydrolysis

    PubMed Central

    Kafle, Kabindra; Shin, Heenae; Lee, Christopher M.; Park, Sunkyu; Kim, Seong H.

    2015-01-01

    A comprehensive picture of structural changes of cellulosic biomass during enzymatic hydrolysis is essential for a better understanding of enzymatic actions and development of more efficient enzymes. In this study, a suite of analytical techniques including sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed for lignin-free model biomass samples—Avicel, bleached softwood, and bacterial cellulose—to find correlations between the decrease in hydrolysis rate over time and the structural or chemical changes of biomass during the hydrolysis reaction. The results showed that the decrease in hydrolysis rate over time appears to correlate with the irreversible deposition of non-cellulosic species (either reaction side products or denatured enzymes, or both) on the cellulosic substrate surface. The crystallinity, degree of polymerization, and meso-scale packing of cellulose do not seem to positively correlate with the decrease in hydrolysis rate observed for all three substrates tested in this study. It was also found that the cellulose Iα component of the bacterial cellulose is preferentially hydrolyzed by the enzyme than the cellulose Iβ component. PMID:26463274

  15. The productive cellulase binding capacity of cellulosic substrates.

    PubMed

    Karuna, Nardrapee; Jeoh, Tina

    2017-03-01

    Cellulosic biomass is the most promising feedstock for renewable biofuel production; however, the mechanisms of the heterogeneous cellulose saccharification reaction are still unsolved. As cellulases need to bind isolated molecules of cellulose at the surface of insoluble cellulose fibrils or larger aggregated cellulose structures in order to hydrolyze glycosidic bonds, the "accessibility of cellulose to cellulases" is considered to be a reaction limiting property of cellulose. We have defined the accessibility of cellulose to cellulases as the productive binding capacity of cellulose, that is, the concentration of productive binding sites on cellulose that are accessible for binding and hydrolysis by cellulases. Productive cellulase binding to cellulose results in hydrolysis and can be quantified by measuring hydrolysis rates. In this study, we measured the productive Trichoderma reesei Cel7A (TrCel7A) binding capacity of five cellulosic substrates from different sources and processing histories. Swollen filter paper and bacterial cellulose had higher productive binding capacities of ∼6 µmol/g while filter paper, microcrystalline cellulose, and algal cellulose had lower productive binding capacities of ∼3 µmol/g. Swelling and regenerating filter paper using phosphoric acid increased the initial accessibility of the reducing ends to TrCel7A from 4 to 6 µmol/g. Moreover, this increase in initial productive binding capacity accounted in large part for the difference in the overall digestibility between filter paper and swollen filter paper. We further demonstrated that an understanding of how the productive binding capacity declines over the course of the hydrolysis reaction has the potential to predict overall saccharification time courses. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 533-542. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. A study of a co-processed dry binder composed of microcrystalline cellulose and glycerol monostearate.

    PubMed

    Mužíková, Jitka; Muchová, Sandra

    2012-10-01

    The paper studies the co-processed dry binder LubriToseTM MCC from the viewpoint of energy evaluation of the compression process, strength and disintegration time of tablets. The results were compared with the identical evaluation of physical mixtures of microcrystalline cellulose with several types of lubricants. LubriTose MCC showed the lowest value of energy for friction, the highest value of energy accumulated by the tablet, and the highest plasticity of all tableting materials under study. There were no marked differences in the values of the energy of decompression. The tensile strength of tablets from LubriTose MCC was lower than in those from the mixture of Vivapur® 12 and glycerol monostearate, in the compression forces of 4 and 5 kN it was comparable with the tensile strength of tablets from Vivapur 12 with Poloxamer 407. Disintegration time of tablets from LubriTose MCC was shorter than that of those from Vivapur 12 with glycerol monostearate at the compression force of 3 kN, in the case of the compression forces of 4 and 5 kN no statistically significant difference was found between the values of these tableting materials.

  17. Electro-mechanical properties of hydrogel composites with micro- and nano-cellulose fillers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    N, Mohamed Shahid U.; Deshpande, Abhijit P.; Lakshmana Rao, C.

    2015-09-01

    Stimuli responsive cross-linked hydrogels are of great interest for applications in diverse fields such as sensors and biomaterials. In this study, we investigate polymer composites filled with cellulose fillers. The celluloses used in making the composites were a microcrystalline cellulose of commercial grade and cellulose nano-whiskers obtained through acid hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose. The filler concentration was varied and corresponding physical, mechanical and electro-mechanical characterization was carried out. The electro-mechanical properties were determined using a quasi-static method. The fillers not only enhance the mechanical properties of the composite by providing better reinforcement but also provide a quantitative electric potential in the composite. The measurements reveal that the polymer composites prepared from two different cellulose fillers possess a quantitative electric potential which can be utilized in biomedical applications. It is argued that the mechanism behind the quantitative electric potential in the composites is due to streaming potentials arising due to electrical double layer formation.

  18. Characterization of cellulose II nanoparticles regenerated from ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Regenerated cellulose nanoparticles (RCNs) including both elongated fiber and spherical structures were prepared from microcrystalline cellulose (MCC)and cotton using 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride followed by high-pressure homogenization. The crystalline structure of RCNs was cellulose II in ...

  19. Cellulosic hydrogen production with a sequencing bacterial hydrolysis and dark fermentation strategy.

    PubMed

    Lo, Yung-Chung; Bai, Ming-Der; Chen, Wen-Ming; Chang, Jo-Shu

    2008-11-01

    In this study, cellulose hydrolysis activity of two mixed bacterial consortia (NS and QS) was investigated. Combination of NS culture and BHM medium exhibited better hydrolytic activity under the optimal condition of 35 degrees C, initial pH 7.0, and 100rpm agitation. The NS culture could hydrolyze carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), rice husk, bagasse and filter paper, among which CMC gave the best hydrolysis performance. The CMC hydrolysis efficiency increased with increasing CMC concentration from 5 to 50g/l. With a CMC concentration of 10g/l, the total reducing sugar (RS) production and the RS producing rate reached 5531.0mg/l and 92.9mg/l/h, respectively. Furthermore, seven H2-producing bacterial isolates (mainly Clostridium species) were used to convert the cellulose hydrolysate into H2 energy. With an initial RS concentration of 0.8g/l, the H2 production and yield was approximately 23.8ml/l and 1.21mmol H2/g RS (0.097mmol H2/g cellulose), respectively.

  20. Reinforcement of bacterial cellulose aerogels with biocompatible polymers

    PubMed Central

    Pircher, N.; Veigel, S.; Aigner, N.; Nedelec, J.M.; Rosenau, T.; Liebner, F.

    2014-01-01

    Bacterial cellulose (BC) aerogels, which are fragile, ultra-lightweight, open-porous and transversally isotropic materials, have been reinforced with the biocompatible polymers polylactic acid (PLA), polycaprolactone (PCL), cellulose acetate (CA), and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), respectively, at varying BC/polymer ratios. Supercritical carbon dioxide anti-solvent precipitation and simultaneous extraction of the anti-solvent using scCO2 have been used as core techniques for incorporating the secondary polymer into the BC matrix and to convert the formed composite organogels into aerogels. Uniaxial compression tests revealed a considerable enhancement of the mechanical properties as compared to BC aerogels. Nitrogen sorption experiments at 77 K and scanning electron micrographs confirmed the preservation (or even enhancement) of the surface-area-to-volume ratio for most of the samples. The formation of an open-porous, interpenetrating network of the second polymer has been demonstrated by treatment of BC/PMMA hybrid aerogels with EMIM acetate, which exclusively extracted cellulose, leaving behind self-supporting organogels. PMID:25037381

  1. Oxidoreductive Cellulose Depolymerization by the Enzymes Cellobiose Dehydrogenase and Glycoside Hydrolase 61▿†

    PubMed Central

    Langston, James A.; Shaghasi, Tarana; Abbate, Eric; Xu, Feng; Vlasenko, Elena; Sweeney, Matt D.

    2011-01-01

    Several members of the glycoside hydrolase 61 (GH61) family of proteins have recently been shown to dramatically increase the breakdown of lignocellulosic biomass by microbial hydrolytic cellulases. However, purified GH61 proteins have neither demonstrable direct hydrolase activity on various polysaccharide or lignacious components of biomass nor an apparent hydrolase active site. Cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) is a secreted flavocytochrome produced by many cellulose-degrading fungi with no well-understood biological function. Here we demonstrate that the binary combination of Thermoascus aurantiacus GH61A (TaGH61A) and Humicola insolens CDH (HiCDH) cleaves cellulose into soluble, oxidized oligosaccharides. TaGH61A-HiCDH activity on cellulose is shown to be nonredundant with the activities of canonical endocellulase and exocellulase enzymes in microcrystalline cellulose cleavage, and while the combination of TaGH61A and HiCDH cleaves highly crystalline bacterial cellulose, it does not cleave soluble cellodextrins. GH61 and CDH proteins are coexpressed and secreted by the thermophilic ascomycete Thielavia terrestris in response to environmental cellulose, and the combined activities of T. terrestris GH61 and T. terrestris CDH are shown to synergize with T. terrestris cellulose hydrolases in the breakdown of cellulose. The action of GH61 and CDH on cellulose may constitute an important, but overlooked, biological oxidoreductive system that functions in microbial lignocellulose degradation and has applications in industrial biomass utilization. PMID:21821740

  2. Kombucha-synthesized bacterial cellulose: preparation, characterization, and biocompatibility evaluation.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Changlai; Li, Feng; Zhou, Xinyang; Lin, Lin; Zhang, Tianyi

    2014-05-01

    Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a natural biomaterial with unique properties suitable for tissue engineering applications, but it has not yet been used for preparing nerve conduits to repair peripheral nerve injuries. The objectives of this study were to prepare and characterize the Kampuchea-synthesized bacterial cellulose (KBC) and further evaluate the biocompatibility of KBC with peripheral nerve cells and tissues in vitro and in vivo. KBC membranes were composed of interwoven ribbons of about 20-100 nm in width, and had a high purity and the same crystallinity as that of cellulose Iα. The results from light and scanning electron microscopy, MTT assay, flow cytometry, and RT-PCR indicated that no significant differences in the morphology and cell function were observed between Schwann cells (SCs) cultured on KBC membranes and glass slips. We also fabricated a nerve conduit using KBC, which was implanted into the spatium intermusculare of rats. At 1, 3, and 6 weeks post-implantation, clinical chemistry and histochemistry showed that there were no significant differences in blood counts, serum biochemical parameters, and tissue reactions between implanted rats and sham-operated rats. Collectively, our data indicated that KBC possessed good biocompatibility with primary cultured SCs and KBC did not exert hematological and histological toxic effects on nerve tissues in vivo. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. Preparation of nanocellulose from micro-crystalline cellulose: The effect on the performance and properties of agar-based composite films.

    PubMed

    Shankar, Shiv; Rhim, Jong-Whan

    2016-01-01

    A facile approach has been performed to prepare nanocellulose (NC) from micro-crystalline cellulose (MCC) and test their effect on the performance properties of agar-based composite films. The NC was characterized by STEM, XRD, FTIR, and TGA. The NC was well dispersed in distilled water after sonication and their size was in the range of 100-500nm. The XRD results revealed the crystallinity of NC. The crystallinity index of NC (0.71) was decreased compared to the MCC (0.81). The effect of NC or MCC content (1, 3, 5 and 10wt% based on agar) on the mechanical, water vapor permeability (WVP), and thermal properties of the composites were studied. The NC obtained from MCC can be used as a reinforcing agent for the preparation of biodegradable composites films for their potential use in the development of biodegradable food packaging materials. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Comparison of pharyngocutaneous fistula closure with and without bacterial cellulose in a rat model.

    PubMed

    Demir, Berat; Sarı, Murat; Binnetoglu, Adem; Yumusakhuylu, Ali Cemal; Filinte, Deniz; Tekin, İshak Özel; Bağlam, Tekin; Batman, Abdullah Çağlar

    2018-04-01

    The present study aimed to compare the effects of bacterial cellulose used for closure of pharyngocutaneous fistulae, a complication of total laryngectomy, with those of primary sutures in a rat model. Thirty female Sprague-Dawley underwent experimental pharyngoesophagotomy and were grouped depending on the material used for pharyngocutaneous fistula closure: group I, which received primary sutures alone, group II, which received bacterial cellulose alone; and group III, which received both. After 7 days, the rats were sacrificed. Pharyngocutaneous fistula development was assessed, the gross wound was inspected, and histological examination was conducted. Pharyngocutaneous fistulae developed in 12 rats (41%) in all: 6 from group I (21%), 4 from group II (14%) and 2 from group III (7%). Fibroblast density and inflammatory cell infiltration were significantly greater in group III than group I. We concluded that bacterial cellulose may be useful for pharyngocutaneous fistula closure. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Reinforcement of bacterial cellulose aerogels with biocompatible polymers.

    PubMed

    Pircher, N; Veigel, S; Aigner, N; Nedelec, J M; Rosenau, T; Liebner, F

    2014-10-13

    Bacterial cellulose (BC) aerogels, which are fragile, ultra-lightweight, open-porous and transversally isotropic materials, have been reinforced with the biocompatible polymers polylactic acid (PLA), polycaprolactone (PCL), cellulose acetate (CA), and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), respectively, at varying BC/polymer ratios. Supercritical carbon dioxide anti-solvent precipitation and simultaneous extraction of the anti-solvent using scCO2 have been used as core techniques for incorporating the secondary polymer into the BC matrix and to convert the formed composite organogels into aerogels. Uniaxial compression tests revealed a considerable enhancement of the mechanical properties as compared to BC aerogels. Nitrogen sorption experiments at 77K and scanning electron micrographs confirmed the preservation (or even enhancement) of the surface-area-to-volume ratio for most of the samples. The formation of an open-porous, interpenetrating network of the second polymer has been demonstrated by treatment of BC/PMMA hybrid aerogels with EMIM acetate, which exclusively extracted cellulose, leaving behind self-supporting organogels. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  6. Simple green approach to reinforce natural rubber with bacterial cellulose nanofibers.

    PubMed

    Trovatti, Eliane; Carvalho, Antonio J F; Ribeiro, Sidney J L; Gandini, Alessandro

    2013-08-12

    Natural rubber (NR) is a renewable polymer with a wide range of applications, which is constantly tailored, further increasing its utilizations. The tensile strength is one of its most important properties susceptible of being enhanced by the simple incorporation of nanofibers. The preparation and characterization of natural-rubber based nanocomposites reinforced with bacterial cellulose (BC) and bacterial cellulose coated with polystyrene (BCPS), yielded high performance materials. The nanocomposites were prepared by a simple and green process, and characterized by tensile tests, dynamical mechanical analysis (DMA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and swelling experiments. The effect of the nanofiber content on morphology, static, and dynamic mechanical properties was also investigated. The results showed an increase in the mechanical properties, such as Young's modulus and tensile strength, even with modest nanofiber loadings.

  7. Simulations of cellulose translocation in the bacterial cellulose synthase suggest a regulatory mechanism for the dimeric structure of cellulose.

    PubMed

    Knott, Brandon C; Crowley, Michael F; Himmel, Michael E; Zimmer, Jochen; Beckham, Gregg T

    2016-05-01

    The processive cycle of the bacterial cellulose synthase (Bcs) includes the addition of a single glucose moiety to the end of a growing cellulose chain followed by the translocation of the nascent chain across the plasma membrane. The mechanism of this translocation and its precise location within the processive cycle are not well understood. In particular, the molecular details of how a polymer (cellulose) whose basic structural unit is a dimer (cellobiose) can be constructed by adding one monomer (glucose) at a time are yet to be elucidated. Here, we have utilized molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations to the shed light on these questions. We find that translocation forward by one glucose unit is quite favorable energetically, giving a free energy stabilization of greater than 10 kcal/mol. In addition, there is only a small barrier to translocation, implying that translocation is not rate limiting within the Bcs processive cycle (given experimental rates for cellulose synthesis in vitro ). Perhaps most significantly, our results also indicate that steric constraints at the transmembrane tunnel entrance regulate the dimeric structure of cellulose. Namely, when a glucose molecule is added to the cellulose chain in the same orientation as the acceptor glucose, the terminal glucose freely rotates upon forward motion, thus suggesting a regulatory mechanism for the dimeric structure of cellulose. We characterize both the conserved and non-conserved enzyme-polysaccharide interactions that drive translocation, and find that 20 of the 25 residues that strongly interact with the translocating cellulose chain in the simulations are well conserved, mostly with polar or aromatic side chains. Our results also allow for a dynamical analysis of the role of the so-called `finger helix' in cellulose translocation that has been observed structurally. Taken together, these findings aid in the elucidation of the translocation steps of the Bcs processive cycle and

  8. Simulations of cellulose translocation in the bacterial cellulose synthase suggest a regulatory mechanism for the dimeric structure of cellulose

    DOE PAGES

    Knott, Brandon C.; Crowley, Michael F.; Himmel, Michael E.; ...

    2016-01-29

    The processive cycle of the bacterial cellulose synthase (Bcs) includes the addition of a single glucose moiety to the end of a growing cellulose chain followed by the translocation of the nascent chain across the plasma membrane. The mechanism of this translocation and its precise location within the processive cycle are not well understood. In particular, the molecular details of how a polymer (cellulose) whose basic structural unit is a dimer (cellobiose) can be constructed by adding one monomer (glucose) at a time are yet to be elucidated. Here, we have utilized molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations tomore » the shed light on these questions. We find that translocation forward by one glucose unit is quite favorable energetically, giving a free energy stabilization of greater than 10 kcal mol-1. In addition, there is only a small barrier to translocation, implying that translocation is not rate limiting within the Bcs processive cycle (given experimental rates for cellulose synthesis in vitro). Perhaps most significantly, our results also indicate that steric constraints at the transmembrane tunnel entrance regulate the dimeric structure of cellulose. Namely, when a glucose molecule is added to the cellulose chain in the same orientation as the acceptor glucose, the terminal glucose freely rotates upon forward motion, thus suggesting a regulatory mechanism for the dimeric structure of cellulose. We characterize both the conserved and non-conserved enzyme-polysaccharide interactions that drive translocation, and find that 20 of the 25 residues that strongly interact with the translocating cellulose chain in the simulations are well conserved, mostly with polar or aromatic side chains. Our results also allow for a dynamical analysis of the role of the so-called 'finger helix' in cellulose translocation that has been observed structurally. Taken together, these findings aid in the elucidation of the translocation steps of the Bcs processive

  9. Thermogravimetric analysis for the determination of water release rate from microcrystalline cellulose dry powder and wet bead systems.

    PubMed

    Mayville, Francis C; Wigent, Rodney J; Schwartz, Joseph B

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of this work was to determine the total amount of water contained in dry powder and wet bead samples of microcrystalline cellulose, MCC, (Avicel PH-101), taken from various stages of the extrusion/marumerization process used to make beads and to determine the kinetic rates of water release from each sample. These samples were allowed to equilibrate in controlled humidity chambers at 25 degrees C. The total amount of water in each sample, after equilibration, was determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) as a function of temperature. The rates of water release from these samples were determined by using isothermal gravimetric analysis (ITGA) as a function of time. Analysis of the results for these studies suggest that water was released from these systems by several different kinetic mechanisms. The water release mechanisms for these systems include: zero order, second order, and diffusion controlled kinetics. It is believed that all three kinetic mechanisms will occur at the same time, however; only one mechanism will be prominent. The prominent mechanism was based on the amount of water present in the sample.

  10. Enzymatic preparation of nanocrystalline and microcrystalline cellulose

    Treesearch

    Sarah R. Anderson; Dominic Esposito; William Gillette; J.Y. Zhu; Ulrich Baxa; Scott E. Mcneil

    2014-01-01

    Traditional cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) production methods use harsh chemicals, are energetically expensive, and result in a hydrophilic sulfate surface chemistry with limited utility. Enzymatic production of CNCs is a less expensive alternative production method that eliminates the need for harsh chemicals and requires much less energy for mechanical fibrillation and...

  11. Processive endoglucanase active in crystalline cellulose hydrolysis by the brown rot Basidiomycete Gloeophyllum trabeum

    Treesearch

    Roni Cohen; Melissa R. Suzuki; Kenneth E. Hammel

    2005-01-01

    Brown rot basidiomycetes have long been thought to lack the processive cellulases that release soluble sugars from crystalline cellulose. On the other hand, these fungi remove all of the cellulose, both crystalline and amorphous, from wood when they degrade it. To resolve this discrepancy, we grew Gloeophyllum trabeum on microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel) and purified...

  12. EFFECT OF SIMULTANEOUSLY SILICIFIED MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE AND PREGELATINIZED STARCH ON THE THEOPHYLLINE TABLETS STABILITY.

    PubMed

    Mazurek-Wadołkowska, Edyta; Winnicka, Katarzyna; Czyzewska, Urszula; Miltyk, Wojciech

    2016-07-01

    High profitability and simplicity of direct compression, encourages pharmaceutical industry to create universal excipients to improve technology process. Prosolv® SMCC - silicified microcrystalline cellulose and Starch 1500® - pregelatinized starch, are the example of multifunctional excipients. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the stability of theophylline (API) in the mixtures with excipients with various physico-chemical properties (Prosolv® SMCC 90, Prosolv® SMCC HD 90, Prosolv* SMCC 50®, Starch 1500® and magnesium stearate). The study presents results of thermal analysis of the mixtures with theophylline before and after 6 months storage of the tablets at various temperatures and relative humidity conditions (25 ± 2°C/40 ± 5% RH, 40 ± 2°C/75 ± 5% RH). It was shown that high concentration of Starch 1500® (49%) affects the stability of the theophylline tablets with Prosolv® SMCC. Prosolv® SMCC had no effect on API stability as confirmed by the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Changes in peak placements were observed just after tabletting process, which might indicate that compression accelerated the incompatibilities between theophylline and Starch 1500. TGA analysis showed loss in tablets mass equal to water content in starch. GC-MS study established no chemical decomposition of theophylline. We demonstrated that high content of Starch 1500® (49%) in the tablet mass, affects stability on tablets containing theophylline and Prosolv® SMCC.

  13. Cellulose and hemicellulose decomposition by forest soil bacteria proceeds by the action of structurally variable enzymatic systems

    PubMed Central

    López-Mondéjar, Rubén; Zühlke, Daniela; Becher, Dörte; Riedel, Katharina; Baldrian, Petr

    2016-01-01

    Evidence shows that bacteria contribute actively to the decomposition of cellulose and hemicellulose in forest soil; however, their role in this process is still unclear. Here we performed the screening and identification of bacteria showing potential cellulolytic activity from litter and organic soil of a temperate oak forest. The genomes of three cellulolytic isolates previously described as abundant in this ecosystem were sequenced and their proteomes were characterized during the growth on plant biomass and on microcrystalline cellulose. Pedobacter and Mucilaginibacter showed complex enzymatic systems containing highly diverse carbohydrate-active enzymes for the degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose, which were functionally redundant for endoglucanases, β-glucosidases, endoxylanases, β-xylosidases, mannosidases and carbohydrate-binding modules. Luteibacter did not express any glycosyl hydrolases traditionally recognized as cellulases. Instead, cellulose decomposition was likely performed by an expressed GH23 family protein containing a cellulose-binding domain. Interestingly, the presence of plant lignocellulose as well as crystalline cellulose both trigger the production of a wide set of hydrolytic proteins including cellulases, hemicellulases and other glycosyl hydrolases. Our findings highlight the extensive and unexplored structural diversity of enzymatic systems in cellulolytic soil bacteria and indicate the roles of multiple abundant bacterial taxa in the decomposition of cellulose and other plant polysaccharides. PMID:27125755

  14. Compression parameters of hexagonal boron nitride on direct compression mixture of microcrystalline cellulose and modified starch.

    PubMed

    Halaçoğlu, Mekin Doğa; Uğurlu, Timuçin

    2015-01-01

    The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of conventional lubricants including a new candidate lubricant "hexagonal boron nitride (HBN)" on direct compression powders. Lubricants such as magnesium stearate (MGST), glyceryl behenate, stearic acid, talc and polyethylene glycol6000 were studied and tablets were manufactured on a single station instrumented tablet press. This study comprised the continuation of our previous one, so mixture of microcrystalline cellulose and modified starch was used as a master formula to evaluate effects of lubricants on pharmaceutical excipients that undergo complete plastic deformation without any fragmentation under compression pressure. Bulk and tapped densities, and Carr's index parameters were calculated for powders. Tensile strength, cohesion index, lower punch ejection force and lubricant effectiveness values were investigated for tablets. The deformation mechanisms of tablets were studied during compression from the Heckel plots with or without lubricant. MGST was found to be the most effective lubricant and HBN was found very close to it. HBN did not show a significant negative effect on the crushing strength and disintegration time of the tablets when we compared with MGST. Based on the Heckel plots at the level of 1%, formulation prepared with HBN showed the most pronounced plastic character.

  15. Dispersions of attractive semiflexible fiberlike colloidal particles from bacterial cellulose microfibrils.

    PubMed

    Kuijk, Anke; Koppert, Remco; Versluis, Peter; van Dalen, Gerard; Remijn, Caroline; Hazekamp, Johan; Nijsse, Jaap; Velikov, Krassimir P

    2013-11-26

    We prepared dispersions from bacterial cellulose microfibrils (CMF) of a commercial Nata de Coco source. We used an ultra-high-energy mechanical deagglomeration process that is able to disperse the CMFs from the pellicle in which they are organized in an irregular network. Because of the strong attractions between the CMFs, the dispersion remained highly heterogeneous, consisting of fiber bundles, flocs, and voids spanning tens to hundreds of micrometers depending on concentration. The size of these flocs increased with CMF concentration, the size of the bundles stayed constant, and the size of the voids decreased. The observed percolation threshold in MFC dispersions is lower than the theoretical prediction, which is accounted for by the attractive interactions in the system. Because bacterial cellulose is chemically very pure, it can be used to study the interaction of attractive and highly shape-anisotropic, semiflexible fiberlike colloidal particles.

  16. Comparative evaluation of the powder and compression properties of various grades and brands of microcrystalline cellulose by multivariate methods.

    PubMed

    Haware, Rahul V; Bauer-Brandl, Annette; Tho, Ingunn

    2010-01-01

    The present work challenges a newly developed approach to tablet formulation development by using chemically identical materials (grades and brands of microcrystalline cellulose). Tablet properties with respect to process and formulation parameters (e.g. compression speed, added lubricant and Emcompress fractions) were evaluated by 2(3)-factorial designs. Tablets of constant true volume were prepared on a compaction simulator at constant pressure (approx. 100 MPa). The highly repeatable and accurate force-displacement data obtained was evaluated by simple 'in-die' Heckel method and work descriptors. Relationships and interactions between formulation, process and tablet parameters were identified and quantified by multivariate analysis techniques; principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least square regressions (PLS). The method proved to be able to distinguish between different grades of MCC and even between two different brands of the same grade (Avicel PH 101 and Vivapur 101). One example of interaction was studied in more detail by mixed level design: The interaction effect of lubricant and Emcompress on elastic recovery of Avicel PH 102 was demonstrated to be complex and non-linear using the development tool under investigation.

  17. Nanocellulose patents trends: a comprehensive review on patents on cellulose nanocrystals, microfibrillated and bacterial cellulose.

    PubMed

    Charreau, Hernan; Foresti, Maria L; Vazquez, Analia

    2013-01-01

    Cellulose nanoparticles (i.e. cellulose elements having at least one dimension in the 1-100 nm range) have received increasing attention during the last decade. This is not only evident in academic articles, but it is also manifested by the increasing number of nanocellulose patents that are published every year. In the current review, nanocellulose patents are reviewed using specific software which provides valuable information on the annual number of patents that have been published throughout the years, main patent owners, most prolific inventors, and patents on the field that have received more citations. Patent statistics on rod-like cellulose nanoparticles extracted from plants by acid hydrolysis (nanocrystals), mechanical treatment leading to microfibrillated cellulose (MFC), and microbially produced nanofibrils (bacterial cellulose, BC) are analyzed in detail. The aim of the current review is to provide researchers with patent information which may help them in visualizing the evolution of nanocellulose technology, both as a whole and also divided among the different nanosized particles that are currently the subject of outstanding scientific attention. Then, patents are not only analyzed by their content, but also by global statistics which will reveal the moment at which different cellulose nanoparticles technologies achieved a breakthrough, the relative interest received by different nanocellulose particles throughout the years, the companies that have been most interested in this technology, the most prolific inventors, and the patents that have had more influence in further developments. It is expected that the results showing the explosion that nanocellulose technology is experiencing in current days will still bring more research on the topic and contribute to the expansion of nanocellulosics applications.

  18. Physicochemical characterization of novel Schiff bases derived from developed bacterial cellulose 2,3-dialdehyde.

    PubMed

    Keshk, Sherif M A S; Ramadan, Ahmed M; Bondock, Samir

    2015-08-20

    The synthesis of two novel Schiff's bases (cellulose-2,3-bis-[(4-methylene-amino)-benzene-sulfonamide] (5) & cellulose-2,3-bis-[(4-methylene-amino)-N-(thiazol-2-yl)-benzenesulfonamide] (6) via condensation reactions of periodate oxidized developed bacterial cellulose ODBC (2) with sulfa drugs [sulfanilamide (3) & sulfathiazole (4)] was reported. The physicochemical characterization of the condensation products was performed using FTIR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR spectral analyses, X-ray diffraction and DTA. The ODBC exhibited the highest degree of oxidation based on the aldehyde group number percentage (82.9%), which confirms the highest reactivity of developed bacterial cellulose [DBC (1)]. The X-ray diffractograms indicated an increase in the interplanar distance of the cellulose Schiff base (6) compared to ODBC (2) due to sulfathiazole (4) inclusion between ODBC (2) sheets corresponding to the 1 1 0 plane. In addition, the aldehyde content of Schiff base (6) was (20.8%) much lower than that of Schiff base (5) (41.5%). These results confirmed the high affinity of sulfathiazole (4) to the ODBC (2) chain, and the substantial changes in the original properties of ODBC were due to these chemical modifications rather than the sulfanilamide (3). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Super-Strong, Super-Stiff Macrofibers with Aligned, Long Bacterial Cellulose Nanofibers.

    PubMed

    Wang, Sha; Jiang, Feng; Xu, Xu; Kuang, Yudi; Fu, Kun; Hitz, Emily; Hu, Liangbing

    2017-09-01

    With their impressive properties such as remarkable unit tensile strength, modulus, and resistance to heat, flame, and chemical agents that normally degrade conventional macrofibers, high-performance macrofibers are now widely used in various fields including aerospace, biomedical, civil engineering, construction, protective apparel, geotextile, and electronic areas. Those macrofibers with a diameter of tens to hundreds of micrometers are typically derived from polymers, gel spun fibers, modified carbon fibers, carbon-nanotube fibers, ceramic fibers, and synthetic vitreous fibers. Cellulose nanofibers are promising building blocks for future high-performance biomaterials and textiles due to their high ultimate strength and stiffness resulting from a highly ordered orientation along the fiber axis. For the first time, an effective fabrication method is successfully applied for high-performance macrofibers involving a wet-drawing and wet-twisting process of ultralong bacterial cellulose nanofibers. The resulting bacterial cellulose macrofibers yield record high tensile strength (826 MPa) and Young's modulus (65.7 GPa) owing to the large length and the alignment of nanofibers along fiber axis. When normalized by weight, the specific tensile strength of the macrofiber is as high as 598 MPa g -1 cm 3 , which is even substantially stronger than the novel lightweight steel (227 MPa g -1 cm 3 ). © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  20. Spatially Resolved Characterization of Cellulose Nanocrystal-Polypropylene Composite by Confocal Raman Microscopy

    Treesearch

    Umesh P. Agarwal; Ronald Sabo; Richard S. Reiner; Craig M. Clemons; Alan W. Rudie

    2012-01-01

    Raman spectroscopy was used to analyze cellulose nanocrystal (CNC)–polypropylene (PP) composites and to investigate the spatial distribution of CNCs in extruded composite filaments. Three composites were made from two forms of nanocellulose (CNCs from wood pulp and the nanoscale fraction of microcrystalline cellulose) and two of the three composites investigated used...

  1. Stable coexistence of five bacterial strains as a cellulose-degrading community.

    PubMed

    Kato, Souichiro; Haruta, Shin; Cui, Zong Jun; Ishii, Masaharu; Igarashi, Yasuo

    2005-11-01

    A cellulose-degrading defined mixed culture (designated SF356) consisting of five bacterial strains (Clostridium straminisolvens CSK1, Clostridium sp. strain FG4, Pseudoxanthomonas sp. strain M1-3, Brevibacillus sp. strain M1-5, and Bordetella sp. strain M1-6) exhibited both functional and structural stability; namely, no change in cellulose-degrading efficiency was observed, and all members stably coexisted through 20 subcultures. In order to investigate the mechanisms responsible for the observed stability, "knockout communities" in which one of the members was eliminated from SF356 were constructed. The dynamics of the community structure and the cellulose degradation profiles of these mixed cultures were determined in order to evaluate the roles played by each eliminated member in situ and its impact on the other members of the community. Integration of each result gave the following estimates of the bacterial relationships. Synergistic relationships between an anaerobic cellulolytic bacterium (C. straminisolvens CSK1) and two strains of aerobic bacteria (Pseudoxanthomonas sp. strain M1-3 and Brevibacillus sp. strain M1-5) were observed; the aerobes introduced anaerobic conditions, and C. straminisolvens CSK1 supplied metabolites (acetate and glucose). In addition, there were negative relationships, such as the inhibition of cellulose degradation by producing excess amounts of acetic acid by Clostridium sp. strain FG4, and growth suppression of Bordetella sp. strain M1-6 by Brevibacillus sp. strain M1-5. The balance of the various types of relationships (both positive and negative) is thus considered to be essential for the stable coexistence of the members of this mixed culture.

  2. Moisture sorption by cellulose powders of varying crystallinity.

    PubMed

    Mihranyan, Albert; Llagostera, Assumpcio Piñas; Karmhag, Richard; Strømme, Maria; Ek, Ragnar

    2004-01-28

    Moisture in microcrystalline cellulose may cause stability problems for moisture sensitive drugs. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of crystallinity and surface area on the uptake of moisture in cellulose powders. Powders of varying crystallinity were manufactured, and the uptake of moisture was investigated at different relative humidities. The structure of the cellulose powders was characterized by X-ray diffraction, BET surface area analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. Moisture uptake was directly related to the cellulose crystallinity and pore volume: Cellulose powders with higher crystallinity showed lower moisture uptake at relative humidities below 75%, while at higher humidities the moisture uptake could be associated with filling of the large pore volume of the cellulose powder of highest crystallinity. In conclusion, the structure of cellulose should be thoroughly considered when manufacturing low moisture grades of MCC.

  3. Identification of Cellulose-Responsive Bacterial and Fungal Communities in Geographically and Edaphically Different Soils by Using Stable Isotope Probing

    PubMed Central

    Eichorst, Stephanie A.

    2012-01-01

    Many bacteria and fungi are known to degrade cellulose in culture, but their combined response to cellulose in different soils is unknown. Replicate soil microcosms amended with [13C]cellulose were used to identify bacterial and fungal communities responsive to cellulose in five geographically and edaphically different soils. The diversity and composition of the cellulose-responsive communities were assessed by DNA-stable isotope probing combined with Sanger sequencing of small-subunit and large-subunit rRNA genes for the bacterial and fungal communities, respectively. In each soil, the 13C-enriched, cellulose-responsive communities were of distinct composition compared to the original soil community or 12C-nonenriched communities. The composition of cellulose-responsive taxa, as identified by sequence operational taxonomic unit (OTU) similarity, differed in each soil. When OTUs were grouped at the bacterial order level, we found that members of the Burkholderiales, Caulobacteriales, Rhizobiales, Sphingobacteriales, Xanthomonadales, and the subdivision 1 Acidobacteria were prevalent in the 13C-enriched DNA in at least three of the soils. The cellulose-responsive fungi were identified as members of the Trichocladium, Chaetomium, Dactylaria, and Arthrobotrys genera, along with two novel Ascomycota clusters, unique to one soil. Although similarities were identified in higher-level taxa among some soils, the composition of cellulose-responsive bacteria and fungi was generally unique to a certain soil type, suggesting a strong potential influence of multiple edaphic factors in shaping the community. PMID:22287013

  4. Performance of improved bacterial cellulose application in the production of functional paper.

    PubMed

    Basta, A H; El-Saied, H

    2009-12-01

    The purpose of this work was to study the feasibility of producing economic flame retardant bacterial cellulose (BC) and evaluating its behaviour in paper production. This type of BC was prepared by Gluconacetobacter subsp. xylinus and substituting the glucose in the cultivation medium by glucose phosphate as a carbon source; as well as using corn steep liquor as a nitrogen source. The investigated processing technique did not dispose any toxic chemicals that pollute the surroundings or cause unacceptable effluents, making the process environmentally safe. The fire retardant behaviour of the investigated BC has been studied by non-isothermal thermogravimetric analysis (TGA & DTGA). The activation energy of each degradation stage and the order of degradation were estimated using the Coats-Redfern equation and the least square method. Strength, optical properties, and thermogravimetric analysis of BC-phosphate added paper sheets were also tested. The study confirmed that the use of glucose phosphate along with glucose was significant in the high yield production of phosphate containing bacterial cellulose (PCBC1); more so than the use of glucose phosphate alone (PCBC2). Incorporating 5% of the PCBC with wood pulp during paper sheet formation was found to significantly improve kaolin retention, strength, and fire resistance properties as compared to paper sheets produced from incorporating bacterial cellulose (BC). This modified BC is a valuable product for the preparation of specialized paper, in addition to its function as a fillers aid.

  5. Production of nano bacterial cellulose from waste water of candied jujube-processing industry using Acetobacter xylinum.

    PubMed

    Li, Zheng; Wang, Lifen; Hua, Jiachuan; Jia, Shiru; Zhang, Jianfei; Liu, Hao

    2015-04-20

    The work is aimed to investigate the suitability of waste water of candied jujube-processing industry for the production of bacterial cellulose (BC) by Gluconacetobacter xylinum CGMCC No.2955 and to study the structure properties of bacterial cellulose membranes. After acid pretreatment, the glucose of hydrolysate was higher than that of waste water of candied jujube. The volumetric yield of bacterial cellulose in hydrolysate was 2.25 g/L, which was 1.5-folds of that in waste water of candied jujube. The structures indicated that the fiber size distribution was 3-14 nm in those media with an average diameter being around 5.9 nm. The crystallinity index of BC from pretreatment medium was lower than that of without pretreatment medium and BCs from various media had similar chemical binding. Ammonium citrate was a key factor for improving production yield and the crystallinity index of BC. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Differential heat of adsorption of water vapor on silicified microcrystalline cellulose (SMCC): an investigation using isothermal microcalorimetry.

    PubMed

    Qian, Ken K; Bogner, Robin H

    2011-01-01

    A novel dual-shaft configuration in isothermal microcalorimetry was developed to study the interaction of water vapor with pharmaceutical excipients. An instrument performance test is suggested to validate the experimental data. Reliable experimental results can be collected using a single perfusion shaft; however, there was limitation of the dual-shaft configuration, which resulted deviation in the experimental results. A periodic performance test is recommended. Silicified microcrystalline cellulose (SMCC) was used as a model system to study the interaction using the dual-shaft method. Enthalpy of water vapor adsorption on SMCC was determined and compared to literature data. The data collected using the dual-shaft configuration did not reflect the actual physical system. The deviation was most likely due to the lack of flow control caused by viscous resistance. The enthalpy of adsorption was then calculated using isothermal microcalorimetry coupled with a dynamic vapor sorption apparatus. The results, -55 kJ/mol at low relative humidity (RH) to -22 kJ/mol at high RH, were consistent with the physical phenomenon of water vapor adsorption. Enthalpy of adsorption showed surface heterogeneity of SMCC and suggested multilayer condensation of water at approximately 60% RH. However, at high RH, the results showed the moisture-excipient interaction can be more complex than the proposed mechanism.

  7. Negative results of growing titania nanotubes on cellulose nanocrystals - Effect of hydrothermal reaction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chamakh, Mariem Mohamed; Ponnamma, Deepalekshmi; Al-Maadeed, Mariam Al Ali

    Titania nanotubes (TiO2 nanotubes or TNT) are grown hydrothermally on cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) synthesized from microcrystalline cellulose. It is observed that the CNC are lost during synthesis due to its low thermal stability. This negative result of metal growth on CNC and its influence on thermal degradation are reported here.

  8. Preparation and characterization of directly compactible layer-by-layer nanocoated cellulose.

    PubMed

    Strydom, Schalk J; Otto, Daniel P; Liebenberg, Wilna; Lvov, Yuri M; de Villiers, Melgardt M

    2011-02-14

    Microcrystalline cellulose is a commonly used direct compression tablet diluent and binder. It is derived from purified α-cellulose in an environmentally unfriendly process that involves mineral acid catalysed hydrolysis. In this study Kraft softwood fibers was nanocoated using a layer-by-layer self-assembling process. Powder flow and compactibility results showed that the application of nano-thin polymer layers on the fibers turned non-flowing, non-compacting cellulose into powders that can be used in the direct compression of tablets. The powder flow properties and tableting indices of compacts compressed from these nanocoated microfibers were similar or better than that of directly compactible microcrystalline cellulose powders. Cellulose microfibers coated with four PSS/PVP bilayers had the best compaction properties while still producing tablets that were able to absorb water and disintegrate and did not retard the dissolution of a model drug acetaminophen. The advantages of nanocoating rather than traditional pharmaceutical coating are that it add less than 1% to the weight of the fibers and allows control of the molecular properties of the surface and the thickness of the coat to within a few nanometers. This process is potentially friendlier to the environment because of the type and quantity of materials used. Also, it does not involve acid-catalyzed hydrolysis and neutralization of depolymerized cellulose. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Biosynthesis of highly porous bacterial cellulose nanofibers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hosseini, Hadi; Kokabi, Mehrdad; Mousavi, Seyyed Mohammad

    2018-01-01

    Bacterial cellulose nanofibers (BCNFs) as a sustainable and biodegradable polymer has drawn tremendous research attention in tissue engineering, bacterial sensors and drug delivery due to its extraordinary properties such as high purity, high crystallinity, high water absorption capacity and excellent mechanical strength in the wet state. This awesome properties, is attributed to BCNFs structure, therefore its characterization is important. In this work, the bacterial strain, Gluconacetobacter xylinus (PTCC 1734, obtained from Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST)), was used to produce BCNFs hydrogel using bacterial fermentation under static condition at 29 °C for 10 days in the incubator. Then, the biosynthesized BCNFs wet gel, were dried at ambient temperature and pressure and characterized using Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) analysis. FESEM image displayed highly interconnected and porous structure composed of web-like continuous, nanofibers with an average diameter of 48.5±2.1 nm. BET result analysis depicted BCNFs dried at ambient conditions had IV isotherm type, according to the IUPAC classification, indicating that BCNFs dried at ambient condition is essentially mesoporous. On the other hand, BET results depicted, mesoporous structure is around 85%. In addition, Specific surface area (SBET) obtained 81.45 m2/g. These results are in accordance with the FESEM observation.

  10. Diethylaminoethyl-cellulose-bacterial cell immunoadsorbent columns: preparation of serotype-specific globulin and immunofluorescent conjugates for Streptococcus mutans serotypes a and d.

    PubMed

    McKinney, R M; Thacker, L

    1976-04-01

    Diethylaminoethyl (DEAE)-cellulose was used as a support material for preparing bacterial cell columns. Pretreatment of the bacterial cells with formalin was essential in obtaining satisfactory adherence of the cells to DEAE-cellulose. Cross-reacting antibodies were removed from antibody preparations against strains of Streptococcus mutans serotypes a and d by adsorption on appropriate bacterial cell columns. S. mutans serotype d was further divided into two subtypes on the basis of immunofluorescent staining with conjugates of immunospecifically adsorbed immunoglobulin G. The DEAE-cellulose-bacterial cell columns were regenerated after use by desorbing the cross-reacting antibodies with low-pH buffer and were used repeatedly over and 18-month period with no detectable loss in effectiveness.

  11. Design and characterization of synthetic fungal-bacterial consortia for direct production of isobutanol from cellulosic biomass

    PubMed Central

    Minty, Jeremy J.; Singer, Marc E.; Scholz, Scott A.; Bae, Chang-Hoon; Ahn, Jung-Ho; Foster, Clifton E.; Liao, James C.; Lin, Xiaoxia Nina

    2013-01-01

    Synergistic microbial communities are ubiquitous in nature and exhibit appealing features, such as sophisticated metabolic capabilities and robustness. This has inspired fast-growing interest in engineering synthetic microbial consortia for biotechnology development. However, there are relatively few reports of their use in real-world applications, and achieving population stability and regulation has proven to be challenging. In this work, we bridge ecology theory with engineering principles to develop robust synthetic fungal-bacterial consortia for efficient biosynthesis of valuable products from lignocellulosic feedstocks. The required biological functions are divided between two specialists: the fungus Trichoderma reesei, which secretes cellulase enzymes to hydrolyze lignocellulosic biomass into soluble saccharides, and the bacterium Escherichia coli, which metabolizes soluble saccharides into desired products. We developed and experimentally validated a comprehensive mathematical model for T. reesei/E. coli consortia, providing insights on key determinants of the system’s performance. To illustrate the bioprocessing potential of this consortium, we demonstrate direct conversion of microcrystalline cellulose and pretreated corn stover to isobutanol. Without costly nutrient supplementation, we achieved titers up to 1.88 g/L and yields up to 62% of theoretical maximum. In addition, we show that cooperator–cheater dynamics within T. reesei/E. coli consortia lead to stable population equilibria and provide a mechanism for tuning composition. Although we offer isobutanol production as a proof-of-concept application, our modular system could be readily adapted for production of many other valuable biochemicals. PMID:23959872

  12. Design and characterization of synthetic fungal-bacterial consortia for direct production of isobutanol from cellulosic biomass.

    PubMed

    Minty, Jeremy J; Singer, Marc E; Scholz, Scott A; Bae, Chang-Hoon; Ahn, Jung-Ho; Foster, Clifton E; Liao, James C; Lin, Xiaoxia Nina

    2013-09-03

    Synergistic microbial communities are ubiquitous in nature and exhibit appealing features, such as sophisticated metabolic capabilities and robustness. This has inspired fast-growing interest in engineering synthetic microbial consortia for biotechnology development. However, there are relatively few reports of their use in real-world applications, and achieving population stability and regulation has proven to be challenging. In this work, we bridge ecology theory with engineering principles to develop robust synthetic fungal-bacterial consortia for efficient biosynthesis of valuable products from lignocellulosic feedstocks. The required biological functions are divided between two specialists: the fungus Trichoderma reesei, which secretes cellulase enzymes to hydrolyze lignocellulosic biomass into soluble saccharides, and the bacterium Escherichia coli, which metabolizes soluble saccharides into desired products. We developed and experimentally validated a comprehensive mathematical model for T. reesei/E. coli consortia, providing insights on key determinants of the system's performance. To illustrate the bioprocessing potential of this consortium, we demonstrate direct conversion of microcrystalline cellulose and pretreated corn stover to isobutanol. Without costly nutrient supplementation, we achieved titers up to 1.88 g/L and yields up to 62% of theoretical maximum. In addition, we show that cooperator-cheater dynamics within T. reesei/E. coli consortia lead to stable population equilibria and provide a mechanism for tuning composition. Although we offer isobutanol production as a proof-of-concept application, our modular system could be readily adapted for production of many other valuable biochemicals.

  13. Fibrillar assembly of bacterial cellulose in the presence of wood-based hemicelluloses.

    PubMed

    Penttilä, Paavo A; Imai, Tomoya; Sugiyama, Junji

    2017-09-01

    Composite materials mimicking the plant cell wall structure were made by culturing cellulose-producing bacteria together with secondary-wall hemicelluloses from wood. The effects of spruce galactoglucomannan (GGM) and beech xylan on the nanoscale morphology of bacterial cellulose were studied in the original, hydrated state with small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The SAXS intensities were fitted with a model covering multiple levels of the hierarchical structure. Additional information on the structure of dried samples was obtained using scanning and transmission electron microscopy and infra-red spectroscopy. Both hemicelluloses induced a partial conversion of the cellulose crystal structure from I α to I β and a reduction of the cross-sectional dimensions of the cellulose microfibrils, thereby affecting also their packing into bundles. The differences were more pronounced in samples with xylan instead of GGM, and they became more significant with higher hemicellulose concentrations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Production of bacterial cellulose and enzyme from waste fiber sludge

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a highly crystalline and mechanically stable nanopolymer, which has excellent potential as a material in many novel applications, especially if it can be produced in large amounts from an inexpensive feedstock. Waste fiber sludge, a residue with little or no value, originates from pulp mills and lignocellulosic biorefineries. A high cellulose and low lignin content contributes to making the fiber sludge suitable for bioconversion, even without a thermochemical pretreatment step. In this study, the possibility to combine production of BC and hydrolytic enzymes from fiber sludge was investigated. The BC was characterized using field-emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis, and its mechanical properties were investigated. Results Bacterial cellulose and enzymes were produced through sequential fermentations with the bacterium Gluconacetobacter xylinus and the filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei. Fiber sludges from sulfate (SAFS) and sulfite (SIFS) processes were hydrolyzed enzymatically without prior thermochemical pretreatment and the resulting hydrolysates were used for BC production. The highest volumetric yields of BC from SAFS and SIFS were 11 and 10 g/L (DW), respectively. The BC yield on initial sugar in hydrolysate-based medium reached 0.3 g/g after seven days of cultivation. The tensile strength of wet BC from hydrolysate medium was about 0.04 MPa compared to about 0.03 MPa for BC from a glucose-based reference medium, while the crystallinity was slightly lower for BC from hydrolysate cultures. The spent hydrolysates were used for production of cellulase with T. reesei. The cellulase activity (CMCase activity) in spent SAFS and SIFS hydrolysates reached 5.2 U/mL (87 nkat/mL), which was similar to the activity level obtained in a reference medium containing equal amounts of reducing sugar. Conclusions It was shown that waste fiber sludge is a suitable raw material for production of

  15. An XRPD and EPR spectroscopy study of microcrystalline calcite bioprecipitated by Bacillus subtilis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perito, B.; Romanelli, M.; Buccianti, A.; Passaponti, M.; Montegrossi, G.; Di Benedetto, F.

    2018-05-01

    We report in this study the first XRPD and EPR spectroscopy characterisation of a biogenic calcite, obtained from the activity of the bacterium Bacillus subtilis. Microcrystalline calcite powders obtained from bacterial culture in a suitable precipitation liquid medium were analysed without further manipulation. Both techniques reveal unusual parameters, closely related to the biological source of the mineral, i.e., to the bioprecipitation process and in particular to the organic matrix observed inside calcite. In detail, XRPD analysis revealed that bacterial calcite has slightly higher c/a lattice parameters ratio than abiotic calcite. This correlation was already noticed in microcrystalline calcite samples grown by bio-mineralisation processes, but it had never been previously verified for bacterial biocalcites. EPR spectroscopy evidenced an anomalously large value of W 6, a parameter that can be linked to occupation by different chemical species in the next nearest neighbouring sites. This parameter allows to clearly distinguish bacterial and abiotic calcite. This latter achievement was obtained after having reduced the parameters space into an unbiased Euclidean one, through an isometric log-ratio transformation. We conclude that this approach enables the coupled use of XRPD and EPR for identifying the traces of bacterial activity in fossil carbonate deposits.

  16. Composite edible films based on hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose reinforced with microcrystalline cellulose nanoparticles

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    It has been stated that hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) based films have promising applications in the food industry because of their environmental appeal, low cost, flexibility and transparency. Nevertheless, their mechanical and moisture barrier properties should be improved. The aim of th...

  17. Metagenomic Characterization and Biochemical Analysis of Cellulose-Degrading Bacterial Communities from Sheep Rumen, Termite Hindgut, Decaying Plant Materials, and Soil

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-01-04

    Biochemical Analysis of Cellulose-DegradingBacterial Communities from Sheep Rumen, Termite Hindgut, Decaying Plant Materials,and Soil In an effort to...degrading bacteria from various samples, including termite gut, sheep rumen, soil, and decaying plant materials. Using selective media culture with...Metagenomic Characterization and Biochemical Analysis of Cellulose-DegradingBacterial Communities from Sheep Rumen, Termite Hindgut, Decaying Plant

  18. Identification of Uncultured Bacterial Species from Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and CANDIDATUS Saccharibacteria as Candidate Cellulose Utilizers from the Rumen of Beef Cows

    PubMed Central

    Opdahl, Lee James; Gonda, Michael G.

    2018-01-01

    The ability of ruminants to utilize cellulosic biomass is a result of the metabolic activities of symbiotic microbial communities that reside in the rumen. To gain further insight into this complex microbial ecosystem, a selection-based batch culturing approach was used to identify candidate cellulose-utilizing bacterial consortia. Prior to culturing with cellulose, rumen contents sampled from three beef cows maintained on a forage diet shared 252 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs), accounting for 41.6–50.0% of bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences in their respective samples. Despite this high level of overlap, only one OTU was enriched in cellulose-supplemented cultures from all rumen samples. Otherwise, each set of replicate cellulose supplemented cultures originating from a sampled rumen environment was found to have a distinct bacterial composition. Two of the seven most enriched OTUs were closely matched to well-established rumen cellulose utilizers (Ruminococcus flavefaciens and Fibrobacter succinogenes), while the others did not show high nucleotide sequence identity to currently defined bacterial species. The latter were affiliated to Prevotella (1 OTU), Ruminococcaceae (3 OTUs), and the candidate phylum Saccharibacteria (1 OTU), respectively. While further investigations will be necessary to elucidate the metabolic function(s) of each enriched OTU, these results together further support cellulose utilization as a ruminal metabolic trait shared across vast phylogenetic distances, and that the rumen is an environment conducive to the selection of a broad range of microbial adaptations for the digestion of plant structural polysaccharides. PMID:29495256

  19. Identification of Uncultured Bacterial Species from Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and CANDIDATUS Saccharibacteria as Candidate Cellulose Utilizers from the Rumen of Beef Cows.

    PubMed

    Opdahl, Lee James; Gonda, Michael G; St-Pierre, Benoit

    2018-02-24

    The ability of ruminants to utilize cellulosic biomass is a result of the metabolic activities of symbiotic microbial communities that reside in the rumen. To gain further insight into this complex microbial ecosystem, a selection-based batch culturing approach was used to identify candidate cellulose-utilizing bacterial consortia. Prior to culturing with cellulose, rumen contents sampled from three beef cows maintained on a forage diet shared 252 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs), accounting for 41.6-50.0% of bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences in their respective samples. Despite this high level of overlap, only one OTU was enriched in cellulose-supplemented cultures from all rumen samples. Otherwise, each set of replicate cellulose supplemented cultures originating from a sampled rumen environment was found to have a distinct bacterial composition. Two of the seven most enriched OTUs were closely matched to well-established rumen cellulose utilizers ( Ruminococcus flavefaciens and Fibrobacter succinogenes ), while the others did not show high nucleotide sequence identity to currently defined bacterial species. The latter were affiliated to Prevotella (1 OTU), Ruminococcaceae (3 OTUs), and the candidate phylum Saccharibacteria (1 OTU), respectively. While further investigations will be necessary to elucidate the metabolic function(s) of each enriched OTU, these results together further support cellulose utilization as a ruminal metabolic trait shared across vast phylogenetic distances, and that the rumen is an environment conducive to the selection of a broad range of microbial adaptations for the digestion of plant structural polysaccharides.

  20. Physical and mechanical properties of modified bacterial cellulose composite films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Indrarti, Lucia; Indriyati, Syampurwadi, Anung; Pujiastuti, Sri

    2016-02-01

    To open wide range application opportunities of Bacterial Cellulose (BC) such as for agricultural purposes and edible film, BC slurries were blended with Glycerol (Gly), Sorbitol (Sor) and Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC). The physical and mechanical properties of BC composites were investigated to gain a better understanding of the relationship between BC and the additive types. Addition of glycerol, sorbitol and CMC influenced the water solubility of BC composite films. FTIR analysis showed the characteristic bands of cellulose. Addition of CMC, glycerol, and sorbitol slightly changed the FTIR spectrum of the composites. Tensile test showed that CMC not only acted as cross-linking agent where the tensile strength doubled up to 180 MPa, but also acted as plasticizer with the elongation at break increased more than 100% compared to that of BC film. On the other hand, glycerol and sorbitol acted as plasticizers that decreased the tensile strength and increased the elongation. Addition of CMC can improve film transparency, which is quite important in consumer acceptance of edible films in food industry.

  1. Influence of the crystalline structure of cellulose on the production of ethanol from lignocellulose biomass

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smuga-Kogut, Małgorzata; Zgórska, Kazimiera; Szymanowska-Powałowska, Daria

    2016-01-01

    In recent years, much attention has been devoted to the possibility of using lignocellulosic biomass for energy. Bioethanol is a promising substitute for conventional fossil fuels and can be produced from straw and wood biomass. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to investigate the effect of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium pretreatment on the structure of cellulose and the acquisition of reducing sugars and bioethanol from cellulosic materials. Material used in the study was rye straw and microcrystalline cellulose subjected to ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium pretreatment. The morphology of cellulose fibres in rye straw and microcrystalline cellulose was imaged prior to and after ionic liquid pretreatment. Solutions of ionic liquid-treated and untreated cellulosic materials were subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis in order to obtain reducing sugars, which constituted a substrate for alcoholic fermentation. An influence of the ionic liquid on the cellulose structure, accumulation of reducing sugars in the process of hydrolysis of this material, and an increase in ethanol amount after fermentation was observed. The ionic liquid did not affect cellulolytic enzymes negatively and did not inhibit yeast activity. The amount of reducing sugars and ethyl alcohol was higher in samples purified with 1-ethyl-3-methy-limidazolium acetate. A change in the supramolecular structure of cellulose induced by the ionic liquid was also observed.

  2. Size- and dose-dependent toxicity of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) on human fibroblasts and colon adenocarcinoma.

    PubMed

    Hanif, Zahid; Ahmed, Farrukh R; Shin, Seung Won; Kim, Young-Kee; Um, Soong Ho

    2014-07-01

    A controlled preparation of cellulose nanocrystals of different sizes and shapes has been carried out by acid hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose. The size- and concentration-dependent toxicity effects of the resulting cellulose nanocrystals were evaluated against two different cell lines, NIH3T3 murine embryo fibroblasts and HCT116 colon adenocarcinoma. It could serve as a therapeutic platform for cancer treatment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Synthesis, characterization and adsorption properties of microcrystalline cellulose based nanogel for dyes and heavy metals removal.

    PubMed

    El-Naggar, Mehrez E; Radwan, Emad K; El-Wakeel, Shaimaa T; Kafafy, Hany; Gad-Allah, Tarek A; El-Kalliny, Amer S; Shaheen, Tharwat I

    2018-07-01

    Recently, naturally occurring biopolymers have attracted the attention as potential adsorbents for the removal of water contaminants. In this work, we present the development of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC)-based nanogel grafted with acrylamide and acrylic acid in the presence of methylene bisacrylamide and potassium persulphate as a crosslinking agent and initiator, respectively. World-class facilities such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), surface analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and zeta sizer were used to characterize the synthesized MCC based nanogel. The prepared nanogel was applied to remove reactive red 195 (RR195) dye and Cd (II) from aqueous medium at different operational conditions. The adsorption experiments showed that the feed concentration of monomers has a significant effect on the removal of RR195 which peaked (93% removal) after 10min of contact time at pH2 and a dose of 1.5g/L. On contrary, the feed concentration has insignificant effect on the removal of Cd (II) which peaked (97% removal) after 30min of contact time at pH6 and a dose of 0.5g/L. The adsorption equilibrium data of RR195 and Cd (II) was best described by Freundlich and Langmuir, respectively. Conclusively, the prepared MCC based nanogels were proved as promising adsorbents for the removal of organic pollutants as well as heavy metals. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. The Disintegration Process in Microcrystalline Cellulose Based Tablets, Part 1: Influence of Temperature, Porosity and Superdisintegrants

    PubMed Central

    Yassin, Samy; Goodwin, Daniel J; Anderson, Andrew; Sibik, Juraj; Wilson, D Ian; Gladden, Lynn F; Zeitler, J Axel

    2015-01-01

    Disintegration performance was measured by analysing both water ingress and tablet swelling of pure microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and in mixture with croscarmellose sodium using terahertz pulsed imaging (TPI). Tablets made from pure MCC with porosities of 10% and 15% showed similar swelling and transport kinetics: within the first 15 s, tablets had swollen by up to 33% of their original thickness and water had fully penetrated the tablet following Darcy flow kinetics. In contrast, MCC tablets with a porosity of 5% exhibited much slower transport kinetics, with swelling to only 17% of their original thickness and full water penetration reached after 100 s, dominated by case II transport kinetics. The effect of adding superdisintegrant to the formulation and varying the temperature of the dissolution medium between 20°C and 37°C on the swelling and transport process was quantified. We have demonstrated that TPI can be used to non-invasively analyse the complex disintegration kinetics of formulations that take place on timescales of seconds and is a promising tool to better understand the effect of dosage form microstructure on its performance. By relating immediate-release formulations to mathematical models used to describe controlled release formulations, it becomes possible to use this data for formulation design. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 104:3440–3450, 2015 PMID:26073446

  5. Isolation and characterisation of microcrystalline cellulose and cellulose nanocrystals from coffee husk and comparative study with rice husk.

    PubMed

    Collazo-Bigliardi, Sofía; Ortega-Toro, Rodrigo; Chiralt Boix, Amparo

    2018-07-01

    Cellulosic material from coffee husk has not been previously studied despite being a potential source of reinforcing agents for different applications. This material has been extracted and characterised from coffee husk, in parallel with previously studied rice husk. Samples have been analysed as to their ability to obtain cellulosic fibres and cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) by applying alkali and bleaching treatments and final sulphuric acid hydrolysis. Microstructural changes were analysed after treatments, and the size and aspect ratio of CNCs were determined. Crystallinity and thermal stability of both materials progressed in line with the enrichment in cellulosic compounds. The CNC aspect ratio was higher than 10, which confers good reinforcing properties. These were tested in thermoplastic starch films, whose elastic modulus increased by 186 and 121% when 1 wt% of CNCs from rice and coffee husks, respectively, was incorporated into the matrix. Coffee husk represents an interesting source of cellulosic reinforcing materials. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

    PubMed

    de Souza, Clayton F; Lucyszyn, Neoli; Woehl, Marco A; Riegel-Vidotti, Izabel C; Borsali, Redouane; Sierakowski, Maria Rita

    2013-03-01

    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. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Box-Behnken experimental design for chromium(VI) ions removal by bacterial cellulose-magnetite composites.

    PubMed

    Stoica-Guzun, Anicuta; Stroescu, Marta; Jinga, Sorin Ion; Mihalache, Nicoleta; Botez, Adriana; Matei, Cristian; Berger, Daniela; Damian, Celina Maria; Ionita, Valentin

    2016-10-01

    In this study bacterial cellulose-magnetite composites were synthesised for the removal of chromium(VI) from aqueous solutions. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize the bacterial cellulose-magnetite composites and to reveal the uniform dispersion of nanomagnetite in the BC matrix. Magnetic properties were also measured to confirm the magnetite immobilization on bacterial cellulose membrane. The effects of initial Cr(VI) concentration, solution pH and solid/liquid ratio upon chromium removal were examined using the statistical Box-Behnken Design. Because of the possibility of magnetite dissolution during chromium(VI) adsorption, the degree of iron leaching was also analysed in the same conditions as Cr(VI) adsorption. From the factors affecting chromium(VI) adsorption the most important was solution pH. The highest Cr(VI) removal efficiency was observed at pH 4, accompanied by the lowest iron leaching in the solution. The adsorption experiments also indicated that the adsorption process of chromium(VI) is well described by Freundlich adsorption model. Our results proved that the BC-magnetite composites could be used for an efficient removal of chromium(VI) from diluted solutions with a minimum magnetite dissolution during operation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Simultaneous influence of pectin and xyloglucan on structure and mechanical properties of bacterial cellulose composites.

    PubMed

    Szymańska-Chargot, Monika; Chylińska, Monika; Cybulska, Justyna; Kozioł, Arkadiusz; Pieczywek, Piotr M; Zdunek, Artur

    2017-10-15

    The impact of the matrix polysaccharides on the cellulose microfibrils structure as well as on the mechanical properties of cell walls still remains an open question. Therefore, the aim of investigations was to determine the simultaneous influence of (i) different concentrations of pectins with constant concentration of xyloglucan, and (ii) different concentrations of xyloglucan with constant concentration of pectins on cellulose structure. Composites of bacterial cellulose (BC) produced by Komagataeibacter xylinus are considered to mimic natural plant cell walls. This investigation showed that the lower the ratio of xyloglucan to pectin was, the higher Young's modulus of BC composite was and also obtained cellulose microfibrils were thinner. The increasing concentration of xyloglucan to pectin also caused the drop down in microfibrils crystallinity degree with predominant structure of cellulose I β . In that case, also the length of cellulose chains was growing and reaching the highest value among all BC composites. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Simulation of roller compaction with subsequent tableting and characterization of lactose and microcrystalline cellulose.

    PubMed

    Hein, Stephanie; Picker-Freyer, Katharina M; Langridge, John

    2008-01-01

    Tablets are by far the most common solid oral dosage forms, and many drugs need to be granulated before they can be tableted. Increasingly roller compaction is being used as a dry granulation technique; however it is a very time and material intensive method. Thus some mini roller compactors and simulations of the roller compaction process have been developed as a means of studying the technique at small scale. An important factor in the selection of materials for roller compaction is their ability to be recompressed into tablets after the initial roller compaction and milling steps. In this paper the roller compaction process was simulated on the basis of some models by Gereg and Cappola (2002) and Zinchuk et al. (2004). An eccentric tableting machine was used to make compacts from alpha-lactose monohydrate, anhydrous beta-lactose, spray-dried lactose and microcrystalline cellulose at different maximum relative densities (rho rel,max 0.6-0.9). These compacts were milled immediately to granules with a rotary granulator. The properties of the granules were analyzed and compared to the properties of the original powders. These granules and powders were then tableted at different maximum relative densities (rho rel,max 0.75-0.95) and their properties including elastic recovery, crushing force and 3D-model were analyzed. The properties of the tablets made from the granules were compared to the properties of the tablets made from the powders to determine which excipients are most suitable for the roller compaction process. The study showed that anhydrous beta-lactose is the preferred form of lactose for use in roller compaction since compaction did not affect tablet crushing force to a large extent. With the simulation of roller compaction process one is able to find qualified materials for use in roller compaction without the necessity of a great deal of material and time.

  10. Bacterial cellulose based hydrogel (BC-g-AA) and preliminary result of swelling behavior

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hakam, Adil; Lazim, Azwan Mat; Abdul Rahman, I. Irman

    2013-11-27

    In this study, hydrogel based on Bacterial cellulose (BC) or local known as Nata de Coco, which grafted with monomer: Acrylic acid (AA) is synthesis by using gamma radiation technique. These hydrogel (BC-g-AA) has unique characteristic whereby responsive to pH buffer solution.

  11. The Disintegration Process in Microcrystalline Cellulose Based Tablets, Part 1: Influence of Temperature, Porosity and Superdisintegrants.

    PubMed

    Yassin, Samy; Goodwin, Daniel J; Anderson, Andrew; Sibik, Juraj; Wilson, D Ian; Gladden, Lynn F; Zeitler, J Axel

    2015-10-01

    Disintegration performance was measured by analysing both water ingress and tablet swelling of pure microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and in mixture with croscarmellose sodium using terahertz pulsed imaging (TPI). Tablets made from pure MCC with porosities of 10% and 15% showed similar swelling and transport kinetics: within the first 15 s, tablets had swollen by up to 33% of their original thickness and water had fully penetrated the tablet following Darcy flow kinetics. In contrast, MCC tablets with a porosity of 5% exhibited much slower transport kinetics, with swelling to only 17% of their original thickness and full water penetration reached after 100 s, dominated by case II transport kinetics. The effect of adding superdisintegrant to the formulation and varying the temperature of the dissolution medium between 20°C and 37°C on the swelling and transport process was quantified. We have demonstrated that TPI can be used to non-invasively analyse the complex disintegration kinetics of formulations that take place on timescales of seconds and is a promising tool to better understand the effect of dosage form microstructure on its performance. By relating immediate-release formulations to mathematical models used to describe controlled release formulations, it becomes possible to use this data for formulation design. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 104:3440-3450, 2015. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.

  12. Plackett-Burman experimental design for bacterial cellulose-silica composites synthesis.

    PubMed

    Guzun, Anicuta Stoica; Stroescu, Marta; Jinga, Sorin Ion; Voicu, Georgeta; Grumezescu, Alexandru Mihai; Holban, Alina Maria

    2014-09-01

    Bacterial cellulose-silica hybrid composites were prepared starting from wet bacterial cellulose (BC) membranes using Stöber reaction. The structure and surface morphology of hybrid composites were examined by FTIR and SEM. The SEM pictures revealed that the silica particles are attached to BC fibrils and are well dispersed in the BC matrix. The influence of silica particles upon BC crystallinity was studied using XRD analysis. Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis showed that the composites are stable up to 300°C. A Plackett-Burman design was applied in order to investigate the influence of process parameters upon silica particle sizes and silica content of BC-silica composites. The statistical model predicted that it is possible for silica particles size to vary the synthesis parameters in order to obtain silica particles deposed on BC membranes in the range from 34.5 to 500 nm, the significant parameters being ammonia concentration, reaction time and temperature. The silica content also varies depending on process parameters, the statistical model predicting that the most influential parameters are water-tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) ratio and reaction temperature. The antimicrobial behavior on Staphylococcus aureus of BC-silica composites functionalized with usnic acid (UA) was also studied, in order to create improved surfaces with antiadherence and anti-biofilm properties. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Sonication reduces the attachment of Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 14028 cells to bacterial cellulose-based plant cell wall models and cut plant material.

    PubMed

    Tan, Michelle S F; Rahman, Sadequr; Dykes, Gary A

    2017-04-01

    This study investigated the removal of bacterial surface structures, particularly flagella, using sonication, and examined its effect on the attachment of Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 14028 cells to plant cell walls. S. Typhimurium ATCC 14028 cells were subjected to sonication at 20 kHz to remove surface structures without affecting cell viability. Effective removal of flagella was determined by staining flagella of sonicated cells with Ryu's stain and enumerating the flagella remaining by direct microscopic counting. The attachment of sonicated S. Typhimurium cells to bacterial cellulose-based plant cell wall models and cut plant material (potato, apple, lettuce) was then evaluated. Varying concentrations of pectin and/or xyloglucan were used to produce a range of bacterial cellulose-based plant cell wall models. As compared to the non-sonicated controls, sonicated S. Typhimurium cells attached in significantly lower numbers (between 0.5 and 1.0 log CFU/cm 2 ) to all surfaces except to the bacterial cellulose-only composite without pectin and xyloglucan. Since attachment of S. Typhimurium to the bacterial cellulose-only composite was not affected by sonication, this suggests that bacterial surface structures, particularly flagella, could have specific interactions with pectin and xyloglucan. This study indicates that sonication may have potential applications for reducing Salmonella attachment during the processing of fresh produce. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Production and characterization of bacterial cellulose membranes with hyaluronic acid from chicken comb.

    PubMed

    de Oliveira, Sabrina Alves; da Silva, Bruno Campos; Riegel-Vidotti, Izabel Cristina; Urbano, Alexandre; de Sousa Faria-Tischer, Paula Cristina; Tischer, Cesar Augusto

    2017-04-01

    The bacterial cellulose (BC), from Gluconacetobacter hansenii, is a biofilm with a high degree of crystallinity that can be used for therapeutic purposes and as a candidate for healing wounds. Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a constitutive polysaccharide found in the extracellular matrix and is a material used in tissue engineering and scaffolding for tissue regeneration. In this study, polymeric composites were produced in presence of hyaluronic acid isolated from chicken comb on different days of fermentation, specifically on the first (BCHA-SABT0) and third day (BCHA-SABT3) of fermentation. The structural characteristics, thermal stability and molar mass of hyaluronic acid from chicken comb were evaluated. Native membrane and polymeric composites were characterized with respect to their morphology and crystallinity. The optimized process of extraction and purification of hyaluronic acid resulted in low molar mass hyaluronic acid with structural characteristics similar to the standard commercial hyaluronic acid. The results demonstrate that the polymeric composites (BC/HA-SAB) can be produced in situ. The membranes produced on the third day presented better incorporation of HA-SAB between cellulose microfiber, resulting in membranes with higher thermal stability, higher roughness and lower crystallinity. The biocompatiblily of bacterial cellulose and the importance of hyaluronic acid as a component of extracellular matrix qualify the polymeric composites as promising biomaterials for tissue engineering. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Influence of wet granulation and lubrication on the powder and tableting properties of codried product of microcrystalline cellulose with beta-cyclodextrin.

    PubMed

    Wu, J; Ho, H; Sheu, M

    2001-01-01

    The individual influence of wet granulation and lubrication on the powder and tableting properties of codried product of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) with beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) was examined in this study. Avicel PH 101 and 301 were included for comparison. The codried product, Avicel PH 101 and 301 were granulated with water, and the granules were milled to retain three different size fractions: 37-60 microm, 60-150 microm, and 150-420 microm. The original Avicels and codried product were lubricated with magnesium stearate in three different percentages (0.2, 0.5, and 1.0%). The results showed that the powder flowability and disintegration of codried product and Avicels were significantly improved after wet granulation. However, the compactibility of codried product and Avicels decreased with increasing particle size. Nevertheless, the compactibility of the codried excipient after granulation was still better than the non-granulated Avicel PH 101 and 301. On the other hand, codried product and Avicels were sensitive to lubrication and resulted in decreasing compactibility and increasing disintegration. Because of the rounder shape of particles, the codried excipient was more sensitive to magnesium stearate and produced weaker tablets than did Avicels.

  16. Green synthesis of a typical chiral stationary phase of cellulose-tris(3, 5-dimethylphenylcarbamate)

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background At present, the study on the homogeneous-phase derivatization of cellulose in ionic liquid is mainly focused on its acetylation. To the best of our knowledge, there has been no such report on the preparation of cellulose-tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) (CDMPC) with ionic liquid 1-allyl-3-methyl-imidazolium chloride (AmimCl) so far. Results With ionic liquid 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (AmimCl) as a reaction solvent, cellulose-tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) (CDMPC) was synthesized by the reaction of 3,5-dimethylphenyl isocyanate and soluble microcrystalline cellulose in a homogeneous phase. The synthesized CDMPC was then coated onto the surfaces of aminopropyl silica gel to prepare a chiral stationary phase (CSP). The prepared CSP was successfully used in chiral separation of seven racemic pesticides by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Good chiral separation was obtained using n-hexane and different modifiers as the mobile phases under the optimal percentage and column temperature, with the resolution of metalaxyl, diniconazole, flutriafol, paclobutrazol, hexaconazole, myclobutanil and hexythiazox of 1.73, 1.56, 1.26, 1.00, 1.18, 1.14 and 1.51, respectively. The experimental results suggested it was a good choice using a green solvent of AmimCl for cellulose functionalization. Conclusion CDMPC was successfully synthesized as the chiral selector by reacting 3, 5-dimethylphenyl isocyanate with dissolved microcrystalline cellulose in a green ionic liquid of AmimCl. PMID:23890199

  17. Cecal and colonic responses in rats fed 5 or 30% corn oil diets containing either 7.5% broccoli dietary fiber or microcrystalline cellulose.

    PubMed

    Paturi, Gunaranjan; Butts, Christine; Monro, John; Nones, Katia; Martell, Sheridan; Butler, Ruth; Sutherland, Juliet

    2010-05-26

    Growing evidence suggests that microbiota in the human gastrointestinal tract play a crucial role in mediating the effects of foods on colonic health and host metabolism. The large bowel ecosystem is known to be perturbed in humans and animals fed high-fat diets and conversely to be protected by fermentable oligosaccharides. We examined the ability of largely fermentable dietary fiber from broccoli ( Brassica oleracea L. var. italica ) and minimally fermented microcrystalline cellulose to buffer against the effects of high-fat intakes. The results showed that high fat lowered food intakes and therefore fiber intake by 27%. The addition of fermentable oligosaccharide to the diet was shown to be beneficial to some microbiota in cecum, altered cecal short-chain fatty acids, and increased the colon crypt depth and the number of goblet cells per crypt in high- and low-fat diets. Although, the fat level was the predominant factor in changes to the large bowel ecosystem, we have shown that broccoli fiber conferred some protection to consumption of a high-fat diet and particularly in terms of colon morphology.

  18. Physico-chemical properties and gasification reactivity of co-pyrolysis char from different rank of coal blended with lignocellulosic biomass: Effects of the cellulose.

    PubMed

    Wu, Zhiqiang; Wang, Shuzhong; Luo, Zhengyuan; Chen, Lin; Meng, Haiyu; Zhao, Jun

    2017-07-01

    In this paper, the influence of cellulose on the physicochemical properties and the gasification reactivity of co-pyrolysis char was investigated. A specific surface area analyzer and an X-ray diffraction system were used to characterize the pore structure and the micro-crystalline structure of char. Fractal theory and deconvolution method were applied to quantitatively investigate the influence of cellulose on the structure of co-pyrolysis char. The results indicate that the improvements in the pore structure due to the presence of cellulose are more pronounced in the case of anthracite char with respect to bituminous char. Cellulose promotes the ordering of micro-scale structure and the uniformity of both anthracite and bituminous char, while the negative synergetic effect was observed during gasification of co-pyrolysis char. The exponential relationships between fractal dimension and specific surface area were determined, along with the relations between the gasification reactivity index and the microcrystalline structure parameter. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. A technique for production of nanocrystalline cellulose with a narrow size distribution

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bai, Wen; Holbery, James D.; Li, Kaichang

    2009-02-01

    Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) was prepared by sulfuric acid hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose. A differential centrifugation technique was studied to obtain NCC whiskers with a narrow size distribution. It was shown that the volume of NCC in different fractions had an inverse relationship with relative centrifugal force (RCF). The length of NCC whiskers was also fractionized by differential RCF. The aspect ratio of NCC in different fractions had a relatively narrow range. This technique provides an easy way of producing NCC whiskers with a narrow size distribution.

  20. Simple citric acid-catalyzed surface esterification of cellulose nanocrystals.

    PubMed

    Ávila Ramírez, Jhon Alejandro; Fortunati, Elena; Kenny, José María; Torre, Luigi; Foresti, María Laura

    2017-02-10

    A simple straightforward route for the surface esterification of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) is herein proposed. CNC obtained from microcrystalline cellulose were acetylated using as catalyst citric acid, a α-hydroxy acid present in citrus fruits and industrially produced by certain molds in sucrose or glucose-containing medium. No additional solvent was added to the system; instead, the acylant (acetic anhydride) was used in sufficient excess to allow CNC dispersion and proper suspension agitation. By tuning the catalyst load, CNC with two different degree of substitution (i.e. DS=0.18 and 0.34) were obtained. Acetylated cellulose nanocrystals were characterized in terms of chemical structure, crystallinity, morphology, thermal decomposition and dispersion in a non-polar solvent. Results illustrated for the first time the suitability of the protocol proposed for the simple surface acetylation of cellulose nanocrystals. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Bacterial Cellulose Membranes Used as Artificial Substitutes for Dural Defection in Rabbits

    PubMed Central

    Xu, Chen; Ma, Xia; Chen, Shiwen; Tao, Meifeng; Yuan, Lutao; Jing, Yao

    2014-01-01

    To improve the efficacy and safety of dural repair in neurosurgical procedures, a new dural material derived from bacterial cellulose (BC) was evaluated in a rabbit model with dural defects. We prepared artificial dura mater using bacterial cellulose which was incubated and fermented from Acetobacter xylinum. The dural defects of the rabbit model were repaired with BC membranes. All surgeries were performed under sodium pentobarbital anesthesia, and all efforts were made to minimize suffering. All animals were humanely euthanized by intravenous injection of phenobarbitone, at each time point, after the operation. Then, the histocompatibility and inflammatory effects of BC were examined by histological examination, real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Western Blot. BC membranes evenly covered the surface of brain without adhesion. There were seldom inflammatory cells surrounding the membrane during the early postoperative period. The expression of inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α as well as iNOS and COX-2 were lower in the BC group compared to the control group at 7, 14 and 21 days after implantation. BC can repair dural defects in rabbit and has a decreased inflammatory response compared to traditional materials. However, the long-term effects need to be validated in larger animals. PMID:24937688

  2. A universal route for the simultaneous extraction and functionalization of cellulose nanocrystals from industrial and agricultural celluloses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Guo-Yin; Yu, Hou-Yong; Zhang, Cai-Hong; Zhou, Ying; Yao, Ju-Ming

    2016-02-01

    A simple route was designed to extract the cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) with formate groups from industrial and agricultural celluloses like microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), viscose fiber, ginger fiber, and bamboo fiber. The effect of reaction time on the microstructure and properties of the CNCs was investigated in detail, while microstructure and properties of different CNCs were compared. The rod-like CNCs (MCC) with hundreds of nanometers in length and about 10 nm in width, nanofibrillated CNCs (ginger fiber bamboo fiber) with average width of 30 nm and the length of 1 μm, and spherical CNCs (viscose fiber) with the width of 56 nm were obtained by one-step HCOOH/HCl hydrolysis. The CNCs with improved thermal stability showed the maximum degradation temperature ( T max) of 368.9-388.2 °C due to the introduction of formate groups (reducibility) and the increased crystallinity. Such CNCs may be used as an effective template for the synthesis of nanohybrids or reinforcing material for high-performance nanocomposites.

  3. Prevalence and trends of cellulosics in pharmaceutical dosage forms.

    PubMed

    Mastropietro, David J; Omidian, Hossein

    2013-02-01

    Many studies have shown that cellulose derivatives (cellulosics) can provide various benefits when used in virtually all types of dosage forms. Nevertheless, the popularity of their use in approved drug products is rather unknown. This research reports the current prevalence and trends of use for 15 common cellulosics in prescription drug products. The cellulosics were powdered and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), ethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC), hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), hypromellose (HPMC), HPMC phthalate, HPMC acetate succinate, cellulose acetate (CA), CA phthalate, sodium (Na) and calcium (Ca) carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), croscarmellose sodium (XCMCNa), methyl cellulose, and low substituted HPC. The number of brand drug products utilizing each cellulosics was determined using the online drug index Rxlist. A total of 607 brand products were identified having one or more of the cellulosics as an active or inactive ingredient. An array of various dosage forms was identified and revealed HPMC and MCC to be the most utilized cellulosics in all products followed by XCMCNa and HPC. Many products contained two or more cellulosics in the formulation (42% containing two, 23% containing three, and 4% containing 4-5). The largest combination occurrence was HPMC with MCC. The use of certain cellulosics within different dosage form types was found to contain specific trends. All injectables utilized only CMCNa, and the same with all ophthalmic solutions utilizing HPMC, and otic suspensions utilizing HEC. Popularity and trends regarding cellulosics use may occur based on many factors including functionality, safety, availability, stability, and ease of manufacturing.

  4. In situ synthesis of silver-nanoparticles/bacterial cellulose composites for slow-released antimicrobial wound dressing.

    PubMed

    Wu, Jian; Zheng, Yudong; Song, Wenhui; Luan, Jiabin; Wen, Xiaoxiao; Wu, Zhigu; Chen, Xiaohua; Wang, Qi; Guo, Shaolin

    2014-02-15

    Bacterial cellulose has attracted increasing attention as a novel wound dressing material, but it has no antimicrobial activity, which is one of critical skin-barrier functions in wound healing. To overcome such deficiency, we developed a novel method to synthesize and impregnate silver nanoparticles on to bacterial cellulose nanofibres (AgNP-BC). Uniform spherical silver nano-particles (10-30 nm) were generated and self-assembled on the surface of BC nano-fibers, forming a stable and evenly distributed Ag nanoparticles coated BC nanofiber. Such hybrid nanostructure prevented Ag nanoparticles from dropping off BC network and thus minimized the toxicity of nanoparticles. Regardless the slow Ag(+) release, AgNP-BC still exhibited significant antibacterial activities with more than 99% reductions in Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Moreover, AgNP-BC allowed attachment and growth of epidermal cells with no cytotoxicity emerged. The results demonstrated that AgNP-BC could reduce inflammation and promote wound healing. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Acetylation of bacterial cellulose catalyzed by citric acid: Use of reaction conditions for tailoring the esterification extent.

    PubMed

    Ávila Ramírez, Jhon Alejandro; Gómez Hoyos, Catalina; Arroyo, Silvana; Cerrutti, Patricia; Foresti, María Laura

    2016-11-20

    Bacterial cellulose (BC) nanoribbons were partially acetylated by a simple direct solvent-free route catalyzed by citric acid. The assay of reaction conditions within chosen intervals (i.e. esterification time (0.5-7h), catalyst content (0.08-1.01mmol/mmol AGU), and temperature (90-140°C)), illustrated the flexibility of the methodology proposed, with reaction variables which can be conveniently manipulated to acetylate BC to the required degree of substitution (DS) within the 0.20-0.73 interval. Within this DS interval, characterization results indicated a surface-only process in which acetylated bacterial cellulose with tunable DS, preserved fibrous structure and increased hydrophobicity could be easily obtained. The feasibility of reusing the catalyst/excess acylant in view of potential scale-up was also illustrated. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Ice nucleation by cellulose and its potential impact on clouds and climate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hiranuma, Naruki; Möhler, Ottmar; Yamashita, Katsuya; Tajiri, Takuya; Saito, Atsushi; Kiselev, Alexei; Hoose, Corinna; Murakami, Masataka

    2014-05-01

    Biological aerosol particles have recently been accentuated by their efficient ice nucleating activity as well as potential impact on clouds and global climate. Despite their potential importance, little is known about the abundance of biological particles in the atmosphere and their role compared to non-biological material and, consequently, their potential role in the cloud-hydrology and climate system is also poorly constrained. However, field observations show that the concentration of airborne cellulose, which is one of the most important derivatives of glucose and atmospherically relevant biopolymers, is consistently prevalent (>10 ng per cubic meter) throughout the whole year even at remote- and elevated locations. Here we use a novel cloud simulation chamber in Tsukuba, Japan to demonstrate that airborne cellulose of biological origin can act as efficient ice nucleating particles in super-cooled clouds of the lower and middle troposphere. In specific, we measured the surface-based ice nucleation activity of microcrystalline cellulose particles immersed in cloud droplets, which may add crucial importance to further quantify the role of biological particles as ice nuclei in the troposphere. Our results suggest that the concentration of ice nucleating cellulose to become significant (>0.1 per liter) below about -17 °C and nearly comparable to other known ice nucleating clay mineral particles (e.g., illite rich clay mineral - INUIT comparisons are also presented). An important and unique characteristic of microcrystalline cellulose compared to other particles of biological origin is its high molecular packing density, enhancing resistance to hydrolysis degradation. More in-depth microphysical understandings as well as quantitative observations of ice nucleating cellulose particles in the atmosphere are necessary to allow better estimates of their effects on clouds and the global climate. Acknowledgement: We acknowledge support by German Research Society (Df

  7. The spatial proximity effect of beta-glucosidase and cellulosomes on cellulose degradation.

    PubMed

    Li, Xiaoyi; Xiao, Yan; Feng, Yingang; Li, Bin; Li, Wenli; Cui, Qiu

    2018-08-01

    Low-cost saccharification is one of the key bottlenecks hampering the further application of lignocellulosic biomass. Clostridium thermocellum is a naturally ideal cellulose degrading bacterium armed with cellulosomes, which are multienzyme complexes that are capable of efficiently degrading cellulose. However, under controlled condition, the inhibition effect of hydrolysate cellobiose severely restricts the hydrolytic ability of cellulosomes. Although the addition of beta-glucosidase (Bgl) could effectively relieve this inhibition, the spatial proximity effect of Bgl and cellulosomes on cellulose degradation is still unclear. To address this issue, free Bgl from Caldicellulosiruptor sp. F32 (CaBglA), carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) fused CaBglA (CaBglA-CBM) and cellulosomal type II cohesin module (CohII) fused to CaBglA (CaBglA-CohII) were successfully constructed, and their enzymatic activities, binding abilities and saccharification efficiencies were systematically investigated in vitro and in vivo. In vivo, with the adjacency of CaBglA to cellulosomes, the saccharification efficiency of microcrystalline cellulose increased from 40% to 50%. For the pretreated wheat straw, the degradation rate of the combination of cells and the CaBglA-CohII or the CaBglA-CBM was as efficient as that of the free CaBglA (approximately 60%). This study demonstrated that the proximity of CaBglA to cellulosomes had a positive effect on microcrystalline cellulose but not on pretreated wheat straw, which may result from the nonproductive adsorption of lignin and the decreased thermostability of CaBglA-CBM and CaBglA-CohII compared to that of CaBglA. The above results will contribute to the design of cost-effective Bgls for industrial cellulose degradation. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  8. Microcrystalline-cellulose and polypropylene based composite: A simple, selective and effective material for microwavable packaging.

    PubMed

    Ummartyotin, S; Pechyen, C

    2016-05-20

    Cellulose based composite was successfully designed as active packaging with additional feature of microwavable properties. Small amount of cellulose with 10 μm in diameter was integrated into polypropylene matrix. The use of maleic anhydride was employed as coupling agent. Thermal and mechanical properties of cellulose based composite were superior depending on polypropylene matrix. Crystallization temperature and compressive strength were estimated to be 130 °C and 5.5 MPa. The crystal formation and its percentage were therefore estimated to be 50% and it can be predicted on the feasibility of microwavable packaging. Morphological properties of cellulose based composite presented the good distribution and excellent uniformity. It was remarkable to note that cellulose derived from cotton can be prepared as composite with polypropylene matrix. It can be used as packaging for microwave application. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Effects of different fermentation methods on bacterial cellulose and acid production by Gluconacetobacter xylinus in Cantonese-style rice vinegar.

    PubMed

    Fu, Liang; Chen, Siqian; Yi, Jiulong; Hou, Zongxia

    2014-07-01

    A strain of acidogenic bacterium was isolated from the fermentation liquid of Cantonese-style rice vinegar produced by traditional surface fermentation. 16S rDNA identification confirmed the bacterium as Gluconacetobacter xylinus, which synthesizes bacterial cellulose, and the acid productivity of the strain was investigated. In the study, the effects of the membrane integrity and the comparison of the air-liquid interface membrane with immerged membrane on total acidity, cellulose production, alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity and number of bacteria were investigated. The cellulose membrane and the bacteria were observed under SEM for discussing their relationship. The correlations between oxygen consumption and total acid production rate were compared in surface and shake flask fermentation. The results showed the average acid productivity of the strain was 0.02g/(100mL/h), and the integrity of cellulose membrane in surface fermentation had an important effect on total acidity and cellulose production. With a higher membrane integrity, the total acidity after 144 h of fermentation was 3.75 g/100 mL, and the cellulose production was 1.71 g/100 mL after 360 h of fermentation. However, when the membrane was crushed by mechanical force, the total acidity and the cellulose production were as low as 0.36 g/100 mL and 0.14 g/100 mL, respectively. When the cellulose membrane was forced under the surface of fermentation liquid, the total acid production rate was extremely low, but the activity of ADH in the cellulose membrane was basically the same with the one above the liquid surface. The bacteria were mainly distributed in the cellulose membrane during the fermentation. The bacterial counts in surface fermentation were more than in the shake flask fermentation and G. xylinus consumed the substrate faster, in surface fermentation than in shake flask fermentation. The oxygen consumption rate and total acid production rate of surface fermentation were respectively 26

  10. Hydrolysis of cellulose catalyzed by quaternary ammonium perrhenates in 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride.

    PubMed

    Wang, Jingyun; Zhou, Mingdong; Yuan, Yuguo; Zhang, Quan; Fang, Xiangchen; Zang, Shuliang

    2015-12-01

    Quaternary ammonium perrhenates were applied as catalyst to promote the hydrolysis of cellulose in 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Amim]Cl). The quaternary ammonium perrhenates displayed good catalytic performance for cellulose hydrolysis. Water was also proven to be effective to promote cellulose hydrolysis. Accordingly, 97% of total reduced sugar (TRS) and 42% of glucose yields could be obtained under the condition of using 5mol% of tetramethyl ammonium perrhenate as catalyst, 70μL of water, ca. 0.6mmol of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and 2.0g of [Amim]Cl as solvent under microwave irradiation for 30min at 150°C (optimal conditions). The influence of quaternary ammonium cation on the efficiency of cellulose hydrolysis was examined based on different cation structures of perrhenates. The mechanism on perrhenate catalyzed cellulose hydrolysis is also discussed, whereas hydrogen bonding between ReO4 anion and hydroxyl groups of cellulose is assumed to be the key step for depolymerization of cellulose. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  11. Chimeric proteins combining phosphatase and cellulose-binding activities: proof-of-concept and application in the hydrolysis of paraoxon.

    PubMed

    Gonçalves, Larissa M; Chaimovich, Hernan; Cuccovia, Iolanda M; Marana, Sandro R

    2014-05-01

    Phosphatases for organophosphate degradation and carbohydrate-binding domains (CBMs) have potential biotechnological applications. As a proof-of-concept, a soluble chimeric protein that combines acid phosphatase (AppA) from Escherichia coli and a CBM from Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri (AppA-CBM) was produced in E.coli. AppACBM adsorbed in microcrystalline cellulose Avicel PH101 catalyzed the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl phosphate (PNPP). The binding to microcrystalline cellulose displayed saturation behavior with an apparent binding constant (Kb) of 22 ± 5 mg and a maximum binding (Bmax) of 1.500 ± 0.001 enzyme units. Binding was highest at pH 2.5 and decreased above pH 6.5, as previously observed for family 2 CBMs. The Km values for PNPP of AppA-CBM and native AppA were identical (2.7 mM). To demonstrate that this strategy for protein engineering has practical applications and is largely functional, even for phosphatases exhibiting diverse folds, a chimeric protein combining human paraoxonase 1 (hPON1) and the CBM was produced. Both PON1-CBM and hPON1 had identical Km values for paraoxon (1.3 mM). Additionally, hPON1 bound to microcrystalline cellulose with a Kb of 27 ± 3 mg, the same as that observed for AppA-CBM. These data show that the phosphatase domains are as functional in both of the chimeric proteins as they are in the native enzymes and that the CBM domain maintains the same cellulose affinity. Therefore, the engineering of chimeric proteins combining domains of phosphatases and CBMs is fully feasible, resulting in chimeric enzymes that exhibit potential for OP detoxification.

  12. Bionanocomposite films based on plasticized PLA-PHB/cellulose nanocrystal blends.

    PubMed

    Arrieta, M P; Fortunati, E; Dominici, F; López, J; Kenny, J M

    2015-05-05

    Optically transparent plasticized poly(lactic acid) (PLA) based bionanocomposite films intended for food packaging were prepared by melt blending. Materials were plasticized with 15wt% of acetyl(tributyl citrate) (ATBC) to improve the material processability and to obtain flexibile films. Poly(hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) was used to increase PLA crystallinity. The thermal stability of the PLA-PHB blends was improved by the addition of 5 wt% of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) or modified cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) synthesized from microcrystalline cellulose. The combination of ATBC and cellulose nanocrystals, mainly the better dispersed CNCs, improved the interaction between PLA and PHB. Thus, an improvement on the oxygen barrier and stretchability was achieved in PLA-PHB-CNCs-ATBC which also displayed somewhat UV light blocking effect. All bionanocomposite films presented appropriate disintegration in compost suggesting their possible applications as biodegradable packaging materials. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Effective Young's modulus of bacterial and microfibrillated cellulose fibrils in fibrous networks.

    PubMed

    Tanpichai, Supachok; Quero, Franck; Nogi, Masaya; Yano, Hiroyuki; Young, Robert J; Lindström, Tom; Sampson, William W; Eichhorn, Stephen J

    2012-05-14

    The deformation micromechanics of bacterial cellulose (BC) and microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) networks have been investigated using Raman spectroscopy. The Raman spectra of both BC and MFC networks exhibit a band initially located at ≈ 1095 cm(-1). We have used the intensity of this band as a function of rotation angle of the specimens to study the cellulose fibril orientation in BC and MFC networks. We have also used the change in this peak's wavenumber position with applied tensile deformation to probe the stress-transfer behavior of these cellulosic materials. The intensity of this Raman band did not change significantly with rotation angle, indicating an in-plane 2D network of fibrils with uniform random orientation; conversely, a highly oriented flax fiber exhibited a marked change in intensity with rotation angle. Experimental data and theoretical analysis shows that the Raman band shift rate arising from deformation of networks under tension is dependent on the angles between the axis of fibrils, the strain axis, the incident laser polarization direction, and the back scattered polarization configurations. From this analysis, the effective moduli of single fibrils of BC and MFC in the networks were estimated to be in the ranges of 79-88 and 29-36 GPa, respectively. It is shown also that for the model to fit the data it is necessary to use a negative Poisson's ratio for MFC networks and BC networks. Discussion of this in-plane "auxetic" behavior is given.

  14. Green in-situ synthesized silver nanoparticles embedded in bacterial cellulose nanopaper as a bionanocomposite plasmonic sensor.

    PubMed

    Pourreza, Nahid; Golmohammadi, Hamed; Naghdi, Tina; Yousefi, Hossein

    2015-12-15

    Herein, we introduce a new strategy for green, in-situ generation of silver nanoparticles using flexible and transparent bacterial cellulose nanopapers. In this method, adsorbed silver ions on bacterial cellulose nanopaper are reduced by the hydroxyl groups of cellulose nanofibers, acting as the reducing agent producing a bionanocomposite "embedded silver nanoparticles in transparent nanopaper" (ESNPs). The fabricated ESNPs were investigated and characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The important parameters affecting the ESNPs were optimized during the fabrication of specimens. The resulting ESNPs were used as a novel and sensitive probe for the optical sensing of cyanide ion (CN(-)) and 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) in water samples with satisfactory results. The change in surface plasmon resonance absorption intensity of ESNPs was linearly proportional to the concentration in the range of 0.2-2.5 µg mL(-1) and 2-110 µg mL(-1) with a detection limit of 0.012 µg mL(-1) and 1.37 µg mL(-1) for CN(-) and MBT, respectively. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Chromophores in lignin-free cellulosic materials belong to three compound classes. Chromophores in cellulosics, XII

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The CRI (chromophore release and identification) method isolates well-defined chromophoric substances from different cellulosic matrices, such as highly bleached pulps, cotton linters, bacterial cellulose, viscose or lyocell fibers, and cellulose acetates. The chromophores are present only in extrem...

  16. A Molecular Description of Cellulose Biosynthesis

    PubMed Central

    McNamara, Joshua T.; Morgan, Jacob L.W.; Zimmer, Jochen

    2016-01-01

    Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on Earth, and certain organisms from bacteria to plants and animals synthesize cellulose as an extracellular polymer for various biological functions. Humans have used cellulose for millennia as a material and an energy source, and the advent of a lignocellulosic fuel industry will elevate it to the primary carbon source for the burgeoning renewable energy sector. Despite the biological and societal importance of cellulose, the molecular mechanism by which it is synthesized is now only beginning to emerge. On the basis of recent advances in structural and molecular biology on bacterial cellulose synthases, we review emerging concepts of how the enzymes polymerize glucose molecules, how the nascent polymer is transported across the plasma membrane, and how bacterial cellulose biosynthesis is regulated during biofilm formation. Additionally, we review evolutionary commonalities and differences between cellulose synthases that modulate the nature of the cellulose product formed. PMID:26034894

  17. Cellulose Microfibril Formation by Surface-Tethered Cellulose Synthase Enzymes.

    PubMed

    Basu, Snehasish; Omadjela, Okako; Gaddes, David; Tadigadapa, Srinivas; Zimmer, Jochen; Catchmark, Jeffrey M

    2016-02-23

    Cellulose microfibrils are pseudocrystalline arrays of cellulose chains that are synthesized by cellulose synthases. The enzymes are organized into large membrane-embedded complexes in which each enzyme likely synthesizes and secretes a β-(1→4) glucan. The relationship between the organization of the enzymes in these complexes and cellulose crystallization has not been explored. To better understand this relationship, we used atomic force microscopy to visualize cellulose microfibril formation from nickel-film-immobilized bacterial cellulose synthase enzymes (BcsA-Bs), which in standard solution only form amorphous cellulose from monomeric BcsA-B complexes. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques show that surface-tethered BcsA-Bs synthesize highly crystalline cellulose II in the presence of UDP-Glc, the allosteric activator cyclic-di-GMP, as well as magnesium. The cellulose II cross section/diameter and the crystal size and crystallinity depend on the surface density of tethered enzymes as well as the overall concentration of substrates. Our results provide the correlation between cellulose microfibril formation and the spatial organization of cellulose synthases.

  18. Bacterial populations and environmental factors controlling cellulose degradation in an acidic Sphagnum peat.

    PubMed

    Pankratov, Timofey A; Ivanova, Anastasia O; Dedysh, Svetlana N; Liesack, Werner

    2011-07-01

    Northern peatlands represent a major global carbon store harbouring approximately one-third of the global reserves of soil organic carbon. A large proportion of these peatlands consists of acidic Sphagnum-dominated ombrotrophic bogs, which are characterized by extremely low rates of plant debris decomposition. The degradation of cellulose, the major component of Sphagnum-derived litter, was monitored in long-term incubation experiments with acidic (pH 4.0) peat extracts. This process was almost undetectable at 10°C and occurred at low rates at 20°C, while it was significantly accelerated at both temperature regimes by the addition of available nitrogen. Cellulose breakdown was only partially inhibited in the presence of cycloheximide, suggesting that bacteria participated in this process. We aimed to identify these bacteria by a combination of molecular and cultivation approaches and to determine the factors that limit their activity in situ. The indigenous bacterial community in peat was dominated by Alphaproteobacteria and Acidobacteria. The addition of cellulose induced a clear shift in the community structure towards an increase in the relative abundance of the Bacteroidetes. Increasing temperature and nitrogen availability resulted in a selective development of bacteria phylogenetically related to Cytophaga hutchinsonii (94-95% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity), which densely colonized microfibrils of cellulose. Among isolates obtained from this community only some subdivision 1 Acidobacteria were capable of degrading cellulose, albeit at a very slow rate. These Acidobacteria represent indigenous cellulolytic members of the microbial community in acidic peat and are easily out-competed by Cytophaga-like bacteria under conditions of increased nitrogen availability. Members of the phylum Firmicutes, known to be key players in cellulose degradation in neutral habitats, were not detected in the cellulolytic community enriched at low pH. © 2011 Society for

  19. Preparation and characterization of reinforced papers using nano bacterial cellulose.

    PubMed

    Tabarsa, Taghi; Sheykhnazari, Somayeh; Ashori, Alireza; Mashkour, Mahdi; Khazaeian, Abolghasem

    2017-08-01

    The main goal of this work was to reinforce softwood pulp (SP) with bacterial cellulose (BC) to generate a sustainable biocomposite. BC is a nanocellulose, which was anticipated to increase interfacial adhesion between the cellulosic fibers and BC. The organism used was Gluconacetobacter xylinus, which was incubated in a static Hestrin-Schramm culture at 28°C for 14days. The specimens of BC, SP and the reinforced SP with BC were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), FT-IR, FESEM, and physico-mechanical testing. The crystallinity index was found to be 83 and 54% for BC and SP, respectively. FT-IR spectra showed that the composition of BC was fully different from that of SP fibers. Based on FESEM images, one can conclude that BC and softwood fibers do form a good combination with a nonporous structure. BC fibers fill in among the softwood fibers in the sheet. The physical and mechanical properties showed that as the dosage of BC increased, the properties of tensile index, tear index, and burst index greatly improved, while the porosity and the elongation decreased. The reason for the improved mechanical properties can be attributed to the increase of interfibrillar bonding which reduced porosity. This would be due to the high aspect ratio of BC that is capable of connecting between the cellulosic fibers and BC nanofibers, enhancing a large contact surface and therefore producing excellent coherence. This study suggests that BC could be a promising material for reinforcing composites at low loading. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Towards an Integrated QR Code Biosensor: Light-Driven Sample Acquisition and Bacterial Cellulose Paper Substrate.

    PubMed

    Yuan, Mingquan; Jiang, Qisheng; Liu, Keng-Ku; Singamaneni, Srikanth; Chakrabartty, Shantanu

    2018-06-01

    This paper addresses two key challenges toward an integrated forward error-correcting biosensor based on our previously reported self-assembled quick-response (QR) code. The first challenge involves the choice of the paper substrate for printing and self-assembling the QR code. We have compared four different substrates that includes regular printing paper, Whatman filter paper, nitrocellulose membrane and lab synthesized bacterial cellulose. We report that out of the four substrates bacterial cellulose outperforms the others in terms of probe (gold nanorods) and ink retention capability. The second challenge involves remote activation of the analyte sampling and the QR code self-assembly process. In this paper, we use light as a trigger signal and a graphite layer as a light-absorbing material. The resulting change in temperature due to infrared absorption leads to a temperature gradient that then exerts a diffusive force driving the analyte toward the regions of self-assembly. The working principle has been verified in this paper using assembled biosensor prototypes where we demonstrate higher sample flow rate due to light induced thermal gradients.

  1. Development of enzymatically-active bacterial cellulose membranes through stable immobilization of an engineered β-galactosidase.

    PubMed

    Estevinho, Berta N; Samaniego, Nuria; Talens-Perales, David; Fabra, Maria José; López-Rubio, Amparo; Polaina, Julio; Marín-Navarro, Julia

    2018-08-01

    Enzymatically-active bacterial cellulose (BC) was prepared by non-covalent immobilization of a hybrid enzyme composed by a β-galactosidase from Thermotoga maritima (TmLac) and a carbohydrate binding module (CBM2) from Pyrococcus furiosus. TmLac-CBM2 protein was bound to BC, with higher affinity at pH 6.5 than at pH 8.5 and with high specificity compared to the non-engineered enzyme. Both hydrated (HBC) and freeze-dried (DBC) bacterial cellulose showed equivalent enzyme binding efficiencies. Initial reaction rate of HBC-bound enzyme was higher than DBC-bound and both of them were lower than the free enzyme. However, enzyme performance was similar in all three cases for the hydrolysis of 5% lactose to a high extent. Reuse of the immobilized enzyme was limited by the stability of the β-galactosidase module, whereas the CBM2 module provided stable attachment of the hybrid enzyme to the BC support, after long incubation periods (3 h) at 75 °C. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Ultrasound-assisted ionic liquid-based micellar extraction combined with microcrystalline cellulose as sorbent in dispersive microextraction for the determination of phenolic compounds in propolis.

    PubMed

    Cao, Jun; Peng, Li-Qing; Du, Li-Jing; Zhang, Qi-Dong; Xu, Jing-Jing

    2017-04-22

    An ionic liquid-(IL) based micellar extraction combined with microcrystalline cellulose- (MCC) assisted dispersive micro solid-phase extraction method was developed to extract phenolic compounds from propolis. A total of 20 target compounds were identified by ultra-high- performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry. The main extraction parameters were optimized and included the ultrasonic power, ultrasonic time, sample pH, type of IL, the concentration of [C12mim]Br, extraction time, concentration of MCC, type of sorbent and type of elution solvents. Under the optimum conditions, the proposed method exhibited good linearities (r 2  ≥ 0.999) for all plant phenolic compounds with the lower limits of detection in the range of 0.21-0.41 ng/mL. The recoveries ranged from 82.74% to 97.88% for pinocembrin, chrysin and galangin. Compared with conventional solvent extraction, the present method was simpler and more efficient and required less organic solvent and a shorter extraction time. Finally, the methodology was successfully used for the extraction and enrichment of phenolic compounds in propolis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Effect of moderate electric fields in the properties of starch and chitosan films reinforced with microcrystalline cellulose.

    PubMed

    Coelho, Caroline C S; Cerqueira, Miguel A; Pereira, Ricardo N; Pastrana, Lorenzo M; Freitas-Silva, Otniel; Vicente, António A; Cabral, Lourdes M C; Teixeira, José A

    2017-10-15

    Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) can provide improved properties when the aim is the development of biodegradable packaging materials. In this work the physicochemical properties of polysaccharide-based films (chitosan and starch) with the incorporation of MCC and the application of moderate electric field (MEF) and ultrasonic bath (UB) as treatments, were evaluated. For each treatment, the thickness, moisture content, solubility, water vapor permeability, contact angle, mechanical properties, along with its color and opacity were determined. The surface morphologies of the films were assessed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were also performed. It was observed that the addition of different concentrations of MCC as well as the application of MEF are responsible for changes in the properties of the films, being this effect dependent on the polysaccharide used. Chitosan-based films were slightly yellow, transparent and presented a more homogeneous structure. The use of MEF was efficient in decreasing the permeability to water vapor in chitosan based films without MCC, as well as in production of films with a more hydrophobic surface. The addition of MCC promoted more opaque, rigid, less flexible and less hydrophobic films. Starch-based films were whitish, with a more heterogeneous structure and the application of MEF generated more hydrophilic films with lower tensile strength and Young's modulus. The films with MCC were more opaque, less flexible and less hydrophilic than the films without MCC. The composites presented good thermal properties, which increases their applicability as packaging materials. Therefore, the incorporation of MCC into polysaccharide-based films as well as the application of MEF can be an approach to change the properties of films. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Influence of granulating method on physical and mechanical properties, compression behavior, and compactibility of lactose and microcrystalline cellulose granules.

    PubMed

    Horisawa, E; Danjo, K; Sunada, H

    2000-06-01

    The physical and mechanical properties of lactose (LC) and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) granules prepared by various granulating methods were determined, and their effects on the compression and strength of the tablets were examined. From the force-displacement curve obtained in a crushing test on a single granule, all LC granules appeared brittle, and MCC granules were somewhat plastically deformable. Inter-granular porosity epsilon inter clearly decreased with greater spherical granule shape for both materials. Decrease in intragranular porosity epsilon intra enhanced the crushing force of a single granule Fg. Agitating granulation brought about the most compactness and hardness of granules. In granule compression tests, the initial slope of Heckel plots K1 appeared closely related to ease of filling voids in a granule bed by the slippage or rolling of granules. The reciprocal of the slope in the succeeding step 1/K2 in compression of MCC granules indicated positive correlation to Fg, while in LC granules, no such obvious relation was evident. 1/K2 differed only slightly among granulating methods. Tensile strength of tablets Tt obtained by compression of various LC granules was low as a whole and was little influenced by granulating method. For MCC granules, which are plastically deformable, tablet strength greatly depended on granulation. Granules prepared by extruding or dry granulation gave strong tablets. Tablets prepared from granules made by the agitating method showed particularly low Tt. From stereomicroscopic observation, the contact area between granule particles in a tablet appeared smaller; this would explain the decrease in inter-granular bond formation.

  5. Luffa sponge offsets the negative effects of aeration on bacterial cellulose production.

    PubMed

    Krusong, W; Kerdpiboon, S; Pornpukdeewattana, S; Jindaprasert, A

    2016-12-01

    To offset the negative effects of aeration on bacterial cellulose (BC) production by acetic acid bacteria using enmeshed cellulose microfibrils (CM) on luffa sponge matrices (LSM). The CM were enmeshed on LSM (LSM-CM). The optimal amount of LSM-CM was determined for BC production under aerated conditions. Without LSM-CM, no BC was produced in seven out of nine production cycles at the highest aeration rate (9 l min -1 ). However, with 0·5% LSM-CM and an aeration rate of 3 l min -1 , a satisfactory oxygen transfer coefficient was achieved, and also a good yield of BC (5·24 g l -1 ). Moreover, the LSM-CM was able to be recycled through nine consecutive BC production cycles. The highest BC yields (from 5·8 ± 0·4 to 6·6 ± 0·4 g l -1 ) were associated with high bacterial biomass and this was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. We confirm that LSM-CM works well as a starter. Microenvironments low in dissolved oxygen within the matrices of LSM-CM are important for BC production under aeration conditions. The LSM-CM provides a microenvironment which offsets the negative effects of aeration on BC production. A sustainable, economic process for mass BC production is described using recycled LSM-CM with aeration. © 2016 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  6. ZnO nanostructures directly grown on paper and bacterial cellulose substrates without any surface modification layer.

    PubMed

    Costa, Saionara V; Gonçalves, Agnaldo S; Zaguete, Maria A; Mazon, Talita; Nogueira, Ana F

    2013-09-21

    In this report, hierarchical ZnO nano- and microstructures were directly grown for the first time on a bacterial cellulose substrate and on two additional different papers by hydrothermal synthesis without any surface modification layer. Compactness and smoothness of the substrates are two important parameters that allow the growth of oriented structures.

  7. Plant cellulose synthesis: CESA proteins crossing kingdoms.

    PubMed

    Kumar, Manoj; Turner, Simon

    2015-04-01

    Cellulose is a biopolymer of considerable economic importance. It is synthesised by the cellulose synthase complex (CSC) in species ranging from bacteria to higher plants. Enormous progress in our understanding of bacterial cellulose synthesis has come with the recent publication of both the crystal structure and biochemical characterisation of a purified complex able to synthesis cellulose in vitro. A model structure of a plant CESA protein suggests considerable similarity between the bacterial and plant cellulose synthesis. In this review article we will cover current knowledge of how plant CESA proteins synthesise cellulose. In particular the focus will be on the lessons learned from the recent work on the catalytic mechanism and the implications that new data on cellulose structure has for the assembly of CESA proteins into the large complex that synthesis plant cellulose microfibrils. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  8. Strategies for cost-effective and enhanced production of bacterial cellulose.

    PubMed

    Islam, Mazhar Ul; Ullah, Muhammad Wajid; Khan, Shaukat; Shah, Nasrullah; Park, Joong Kon

    2017-09-01

    Bacterial cellulose (BC) has received substantial attention because of its high purity, mechanical strength, crystallinity, liquid-absorbing capabilities, biocompatibility, and biodegradability etc. These properties allow BC to be used in various fields, especially in industries producing medical, electronic, and food products etc. A major discrepancy associated with BC is its high production cost, usually much higher than the plant cellulose. To address this limitations, researchers have developed several strategies for enhanced production of BC including the designing of advanced reactors and utilization of various carbon sources. Another promising approach is the production of BC from waste materials such as food, industrial, agricultural, and brewery wastes etc. which not only reduces the overall BC production cost but is also environment-friendly. Besides, exploration of novel and efficient BC producing microbial strains provides impressive boost to the BC production processes. To this end, development of genetically engineered microbial strains has proven useful for enhanced BC production. In this review, we have summarized major efforts to enhance BC production in order to make it a cost-effective biopolymer. This review can be of interest to researchers investigating strategies for enhanced BC production, as well as companies exploring pilot projects to scale up BC production for industrial applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Progress in bacterial cellulose matrices for biotechnological applications.

    PubMed

    Cacicedo, Maximiliano L; Castro, M Cristina; Servetas, Ioannis; Bosnea, Loulouda; Boura, Konstantina; Tsafrakidou, Panagiota; Dima, Agapi; Terpou, Antonia; Koutinas, Athanasios; Castro, Guillermo R

    2016-08-01

    Bacterial cellulose (BC) is an extracellular polymer produced by many microorganisms. The Komagataeibacter genus is the best producer using semi-synthetic media and agricultural wastes. The main advantages of BC are the nanoporous structure, high water content and free hydroxyl groups. Modification of BC can be made by two strategies: in-situ, during the BC production, and ex-situ after BC purification. In bioprocesses, multilayer BC nanocomposites can contain biocatalysts designed to be suitable for outside to inside cell activities. These nanocomposites biocatalysts can (i) increase productivity in bioreactors and bioprocessing, (ii) provide cell activities does not possess without DNA cloning and (iii) provide novel nano-carriers for cell inside activity and bioprocessing. In nanomedicine, BC matrices containing therapeutic molecules can be used for pathologies like skin burns, and implantable therapeutic devices. In nanoelectronics, semiconductors BC-based using salts and synthetic polymers brings novel films showing excellent optical and photochemical properties. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Interparticle interactions mediated superspin glass to superferromagnetic transition in Ni-bacterial cellulose aerogel nanocomposites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thiruvengadam, V.; Vitta, Satish

    2016-06-01

    The interparticle interactions in the magnetic nanocomposites play a dominant role in controlling phase transitions: superparamagnetic to superspin glass and to superferromagnetic. These interactions can be tuned by controlling the size and number density of nanoparticles. The aerogel composites, 0.3Ni-BC and 0.7Ni-BC, consisting of Ni nanoparticles distributed in the bacterial cellulose have been used as a model system to study these interactions. Contrary to conventional approach, size of Ni-nanoparticles is not controlled and allowed to form naturally in bacterial cellulose template. The uncontrolled growth of Ni results in the formation of nanoparticles with 3 different size distributions - <10 nm particles along the length of fibrils, 50 nm particles in the intermediate spaces between the fibrils, and >100 nm particles in voids formed by reticulate structure. At room temperature, the composites exhibit a weakly ferromagnetic behaviour with a coercivity of 40 Oe, which increases to 160 Oe at 10 K. The transition from weakly ferromagnetic state to superferromagnetic state at low temperatures is mediated by the superspin glass state at intermediate temperatures via the interparticle interactions aided by nanoparticles present along the length of fibres. A temperature dependent microstructural model has been developed to understand the magnetic behaviour of nanocomposite aerogels.

  11. Preliminary study on biosynthesis and characterization of bacteria cellulose films from coconut water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Indrianingsih, A. W.; Rosyida, V. T.; Jatmiko, T. H.; Prasetyo, D. J.; Poeloengasih, C. D.; Apriyana, W.; Nisa, K.; Nurhayati, S.; Hernawan; Darsih, C.; Pratiwi, D.; Suwanto, A.; Ratih, D.

    2017-12-01

    Bacterial cellulose produced by Acetobacter xylinum is a unique type of bacterial cellulose. It contains more than 90% of water. A preliminary study had shown that bacterial cellulose films has remarkable mechanical properties. The aim of this study was to investigate the optimum condition such as percentage of carbon source, time of cultivation, and pH to produce bacterial cellulose films from local coconut water, and its characterization on morphology, swelling ability and tensile strength of dried bacterial cellulose. A. xylinum was grown on coconut water culture medium with addition of 3%, 5%, and 7% of sugar, while the cultivation time was vary from 3 days, 5 days and 7 days. pH condition was conducted in pH 3, pH 5 and pH 7. Bacterial cellulose samples were dried using oven with temperature of 100°C until the moisture content reached 4-5%. This study showed that several parameters for optimum condition to produce bacterial cellulose films from local waste of coconut water had been obtained (5% of carbon source; pH 5; and 7 day of incubation period). The electron microscopy also showed that dried bacterial cellulose films had pores covered by fibrils on the surface. Therefore, the present work proposes the optimum formula and condition that can be used based on properties of end product needed.

  12. Environmentally friendly ultrosound synthesis and antibacterial activity of cellulose/Ag/AgCl hybrids.

    PubMed

    Dong, Yan-Yan; Deng, Fu; Zhao, Jin-Jin; He, Jing; Ma, Ming-Guo; Xu, Feng; Sun, Run-Cang

    2014-01-01

    This study aims to investigate the fabrication and property of cellulose/Ag/AgCl hybrids. In this article, preparation of cellulose/Ag/AgCl hybrids was reported using the cellulose solution, AgNO₃, AlCl₃·6H₂O with ultrasound agitation method. The cellulose solution was synthesized by the dissolution of the microcrystalline cellulose in NaOH/urea aqueous solution. Influences of the experimental parameters of ultrasound treatment time and ultrasonic intermittent on the hybrids were investigated. The phase, microstructure, thermal stability, and morphology of the hybrids were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal analysis (DTA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results showed the successful synthesis of cellulose/Ag/AgCl hybrids with good thermal stability. Moreover, the hybrids displayed desirable antimicrobial activities. Compared with other conventional methods, the rapid, green, and environmentally friendly ultrasound agitation method opens a new window to the high value-added applications of biomass. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Investigation into the structural, morphological, mechanical and thermal behaviour of bacterial cellulose after a two-step purification process.

    PubMed

    Gea, Saharman; Reynolds, Christopher T; Roohpour, Nima; Wirjosentono, Basuki; Soykeabkaew, Nattakan; Bilotti, Emiliano; Peijs, Ton

    2011-10-01

    Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a natural hydrogel, which is produced by Acetobacter xylinum (recently renamed Gluconacetobacter xylinum) in culture and constitutes of a three-dimensional network of ribbon-shaped bundles of cellulose microfibrils. Here, a two-step purification process is presented that significantly improves the structural, mechanical, thermal and morphological behaviour of BC sheet processed from these hydrogels produced in static culture. Alkalisation of BC using a single-step treatment of 2.5 wt.% NaOH solution produced a twofold increase in Young's modulus of processed BC sheet over untreated BC sheet. Further enhancements are achieved after a second treatment with 2.5 wt.% NaOCl (bleaching). These treatments were carefully designed in order to prevent any polymorphic crystal transformation from cellulose I to cellulose II, which can be detrimental for the mechanical properties. Scanning electron microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis reveals that with increasing chemical treatment, morphological and thermal stability of the processed films are also improved. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Combining experimental design and orthogonal projections to latent structures to study the influence of microcrystalline cellulose properties on roll compaction.

    PubMed

    Dumarey, Melanie; Wikström, Håkan; Fransson, Magnus; Sparén, Anders; Tajarobi, Pirjo; Josefson, Mats; Trygg, Johan

    2011-09-15

    Roll compaction is gaining importance in pharmaceutical industry for the dry granulation of heat or moisture sensitive powder blends with poor flowing properties prior to tabletting. We studied the influence of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) properties on the roll compaction process and the consecutive steps in tablet manufacturing. Four dissimilar MCC grades, selected by subjecting their physical characteristics to principal components analysis, and three speed ratios, i.e. the ratio of the feed screw speed and the roll speed of the roll compactor, were included in a full factorial design. Orthogonal projection to latent structures was then used to model the properties of the resulting roll compacted products (ribbons, granules and tablets) as a function of the physical MCC properties and the speed ratio. This modified version of partial least squares regression separates variation in the design correlated to the considered response from the variation orthogonal to that response. The contributions of the MCC properties and the speed ratio to the predictive and orthogonal components of the models were used to evaluate the effect of the design variation. The models indicated that several MCC properties, e.g. bulk density and compressibility, affected all granule and tablet properties, but only one studied ribbon property: porosity. After roll compaction, Ceolus KG 1000 resulted in tablets with obvious higher tensile strength and lower disintegration time compared to the other MCC grades. This study confirmed that the particle size increase caused by roll compaction is highly responsible for the tensile strength decrease of the tablets. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Cellulose Crystal Dissolution in Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquids: A Theoretical Study.

    PubMed

    Uto, Takuya; Yamamoto, Kazuya; Kadokawa, Jun-Ichi

    2018-01-11

    The highly crystalline nature of cellulose results in poor processability and solubility, necessitating the search for solvents that can efficiently dissolve this material. Thus, ionic liquids (ILs) have recently been shown to be well suited for this purpose, although the corresponding dissolution mechanism has not been studied in detail. Herein, we adopt a molecular dynamics (MD) approach to study the dissolution of model cellulose crystal structures in imidazolium-based ILs and gain deep mechanistic insights, demonstrating that dissolution involves IL penetration-induced cleavage of hydrogen bonds between cellulose molecular chains. Moreover, we reveal that in ILs with high cellulose dissolving power (powerful solvents, such as 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride), the above molecular chains are peeled from the crystal phase and subsequently dispersed in the solvent, whereas no significant structural changes are observed in poor-dissolving-power solvents. Finally, we utilize MD trajectory analysis to show that the solubility of microcrystalline cellulose is well correlated with the number of intermolecular hydrogen bonds in cellulose crystals. The obtained results allow us to conclude that both anions and cations of high-dissolving-power ILs contribute to the stepwise breakage of hydrogen bonds between cellulose chains, whereas this breakage does not occur to a sufficient extent in poorly solubilizing ILs.

  16. Cellulose amorphization by swelling in ionic liquid/water mixtures: a combined macroscopic and second-harmonic microscopy study.

    PubMed

    Glas, Daan; Paesen, Rik; Depuydt, Daphne; Binnemans, Koen; Ameloot, Marcel; De Vos, Dirk E; Ameloot, Rob

    2015-01-01

    Amorphization of cellulose by swelling in ionic liquid (IL)/water mixtures at room temperature is a suitable alternative to the dissolution-precipitation pretreatment known to facilitate enzymatic digestion. When soaking microcrystalline cellulose in the IL 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate containing 20 wt % water, the crystallinity of the cellulose sample is strongly reduced. As less than 4 % of the cellulose dissolves in this mixture, this swelling method makes a precipitation step and subsequent energy-intensive IL purification redundant. Second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy is used as a structure-sensitive technique for in situ monitoring of the changes in cellulose crystallinity. Combined optical and SHG observations confirm that in the pure IL complete dissolution takes place, while swelling without dissolution in the optimal IL/water mixture yields a solid cellulose with a significantly reduced crystallinity in a single step. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  17. Effect of cooking temperature on the crystallinity of acid hydrolysed-oil palm cellulose

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuthi, Fatin Afifah Binti Ahmad; Badri, Khairiah Haji

    2014-09-01

    In this research, we studied the effect of acid hydrolysis temperature on the crystallinity of cellulose produced from empty fruit bunch (EFB). The hydrolysis temperature was studied from 120 to 140 °C at a fixed time and sulfuric acid, H2SO4 concentration which were 1 h and 1% (v/v) respectively. X-ray diffractometry (XRD) was carried out to measure the crystallinity of cellulose produced at varying hydrolysis temperatures. During hydrolysis, the amorphous region of α-cellulose was removed and the crystalline region was obtained. Percentage of crystallinity (CrI) for acid hydrolysed cellulose at 120, 130 and 140 °C were 54.21, 50.59 and 50.55 % respectively. Morphological studies using scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that acid hydrolysis defibrilised to microfibrils in α-cellulose. The extraction process to produce α-cellulose has also been successfully carried out as the impurities at the outer surface, lignin and hemicellulose were removed. These findings were supported by the disappearance of peaks at 1732, 1512 and 1243 cm-1 on Fourier Transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum of α-cellulose. Similar peaks were identified in both the commercial microcrystalline cellulose (C-MCC) and acid hydrolysed cellulose (H-EFB), indicating the effectiveness of heat-catalysed acid hydrolysis.

  18. A soft biomolecule actuator based on a highly functionalized bacterial cellulose nano-fiber network with carboxylic acid groups.

    PubMed

    Wang, Fan; Jeon, Jin-Han; Park, Sukho; Kee, Chang-Doo; Kim, Seong-Jun; Oh, Il-Kwon

    2016-01-07

    Upcoming human-related applications such as soft wearable electronics, flexible haptic systems, and active bio-medical devices will require bio-friendly actuating materials. Here, we report a soft biomolecule actuator based on carboxylated bacterial cellulose (CBC), ionic liquid (IL), and poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) ( PSS) electrodes. Soft and biocompatible polymer-IL composites were prepared via doping of CBC with ILs. The highly conductive PSS layers were deposited on both sides of the CBC-IL membranes by a dip-coating technique to yield a sandwiched actuator system. Ionic conductivity and ionic exchange capacity of the CBC membrane can be increased up to 22.8 times and 1.5 times compared with pristine bacterial cellulose (BC), respectively, resulting in 8 times large bending deformation than the pure BC actuators with metallic electrodes in an open air environment. The developed CBC-IL actuators show significant progress in the development of biocompatible and soft actuating materials with quick response, low operating voltage and comparatively large bending deformation.

  19. To Evaluate the Effect of Solvents and Different Relative Humidity Conditions on Thermal and Rheological Properties of Microcrystalline Cellulose 101 Using METHOCEL™ E15LV as a Binder.

    PubMed

    Jagia, Moksh; Trivedi, Maitri; Dave, Rutesh H

    2016-08-01

    The solvent used for preparing the binder solution in wet granulation can affect the granulation end point and also impact the thermal, rheological, and flow properties of the granules. The present study investigates the effect of solvents and percentage relative humidity (RH) on the granules of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) with hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) as the binder. MCC was granulated using 2.5% w/w binder solution in water and ethanol/water mixture (80:20 v/v). Prepared granules were dried until constant percentage loss on drying, sieved, and further analyzed. Dried granules were exposed to different percentage RH for 48 h at room temperature. Powder rheometer was used for the rheological and flow characterization, while thermal effusivity and differential scanning calorimeter were used for thermal analysis. The thermal effusivity values for the wet granules showed a sharp increase beginning 50% w/w binder solution in both cases, which reflected the over-wetting of granules. Ethanol/water solvent batches showed greater resistance to flow as compared to the water solvent batches in the wet granule stage, while the reverse was true for the dried granule stage, as evident from the basic flowability energy values. Although the solvents used affected the equilibration kinetics of moisture content, the RH-exposed granules remained unaffected in their flow properties in both cases. This study indicates that the solvents play a vital role on the rheology and flow properties of MCC granules, while the different RH conditions have little or no effect on them for the above combination of solvent and binder.

  20. Electrically conductive nano graphite-filled bacterial cellulose composites.

    PubMed

    Erbas Kiziltas, Esra; Kiziltas, Alper; Rhodes, Kevin; Emanetoglu, Nuri W; Blumentritt, Melanie; Gardner, Douglas J

    2016-01-20

    A unique three dimensional (3D) porous structured bacterial cellulose (BC) can act as a supporting material to deposit the nanofillers in order to create advanced BC-based functional nanomaterials for various technological applications. In this study, novel nanocomposites comprised of BC with exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets (xGnP) incorporated into the BC matrix were prepared using a simple particle impregnation strategy to enhance the thermal properties and electrical conductivity of the BC. The flake-shaped xGnP particles were well dispersed and formed a continuous network throughout the BC matrix. The temperature at 10% weight loss, thermal stability and residual ash content of the nanocomposites increased at higher xGnP loadings. The electrical conductivity of the composites increased with increasing xGnP loading (attaining values 0.75 S/cm with the addition of 2 wt.% of xGnP). The enhanced conductive and thermal properties of the BC-xGnP nanocomposites will broaden applications (biosensors, tissue engineering, etc.) of BC and xGnP. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Effect of electron beam irradiation on bacterial cellulose membranes used as transdermal drug delivery systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stoica-Guzun, Anicuta; Stroescu, Marta; Tache, Florin; Zaharescu, Traian; Grosu, Elena

    2007-12-01

    Ionizing radiation is an effective energetic source for polymer surfaces modification in order to obtain transdermal systems with different controlled release properties. In this work, gamma rays have been applied to induce changes in bacterial cellulose membranes. Permeation of drug (tetracycline) was theoretically and experimentally investigated starting from the effect of γ-irradiation on membranes permeability. Release and permeation of drug from irradiated and non-irradiated membranes have been performed using a diffusion cell.

  2. Material and Compression Properties of Cedrela odorata Gum Co-Processed with Plantain Starch and Microcrystalline Cellulose.

    PubMed

    Adetunji, Oladapo Adewale; Odeniyi, Michael Ayodele

    2016-01-01

    Many excipients used in tableting exhibit some undesirable properties such as poor flow, cohesion and lubricating characteristics, thus necessitating some modification to achieve the desired product. The objective of this study was to enhance the material, flow and compressional properties of Cedrela odorata gum (COG) (Family: Meliaceae) by co-processing with plantain starch (PS) and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). The COG was co-processed with PS (or MCC) by physical co-grinding at ratio 1 : 1, 1 : 2 and 1 : 4, and characterized using morphological analysis, swelling index viscosity measurements, particle size analysis and FTIR spectra. The material, flow and compressional properties of the co-processed excipients were also evaluated. Results were analyzed using mean and standard deviation of data. There was a decrease in the degree of agglomeration of COG and a reduction in the size of the powdered gum. The co-processed excipients were more spherical than the native excipients. The COG had the highest viscosity, while MCC and COG : PS (1 : 2) showed the highest and lowest degrees of swelling at 27.0 ± 0.05°C respectively. Water absorption capacity of the component excipients improved with co-processing COG : MCC increasing from 171.8 ± 1.54 (1 : 1) to 214.8 ± 1.07 (1 : 2), while COG : PS increased from 95.2 ± 0.08 (1 : 1) to 206.2 ± 0.13. There was a decrease in the percentage solubility of the co-processed excipients with the highest and lowest solubility observed in COG (54.1 ± 0.07%) and PS (3.7 ± 0.16%), respectively. The FTIR spectra indicate no significant interaction between the excipients. The poor flow of the component excipients did not improve with co-processing; however, there was a significant increase in compressibility. Generally, COG co-processed with MCC showed better compression properties when compared with COG co-processed with PS. Co-processing of COD with MC or PS enhanced the characters of the component excipients, thus making the

  3. Method for depositing high-quality microcrystalline semiconductor materials

    DOEpatents

    Guha, Subhendu [Bloomfield Hills, MI; Yang, Chi C [Troy, MI; Yan, Baojie [Rochester Hills, MI

    2011-03-08

    A process for the plasma deposition of a layer of a microcrystalline semiconductor material is carried out by energizing a process gas which includes a precursor of the semiconductor material and a diluent with electromagnetic energy so as to create a plasma therefrom. The plasma deposits a layer of the microcrystalline semiconductor material onto the substrate. The concentration of the diluent in the process gas is varied as a function of the thickness of the layer of microcrystalline semiconductor material which has been deposited. Also disclosed is the use of the process for the preparation of an N-I-P type photovoltaic device.

  4. In situ and ex situ modifications of bacterial cellulose for applications in tissue engineering.

    PubMed

    Stumpf, Taisa Regina; Yang, Xiuying; Zhang, Jingchang; Cao, Xudong

    2018-01-01

    Bacterial cellulose (BC) is secreted by a few strains of bacteria and consists of a cellulose nanofiber network with unique characteristics. Because of its excellent mechanical properties, outstanding biocompatibilities, and abilities to form porous structures, BC has been studied for a variety of applications in different fields, including the use as a biomaterial for scaffolds in tissue engineering. To extend its applications in tissue engineering, native BC is normally modified to enhance its properties. Generally, BC modifications can be made by either in situ modification during cell culture or ex situ modification of existing BC microfibers. In this review we will first provide a brief introduction of BC and its attributes; this will set the stage for in-depth and up-to-date discussions on modified BC. Finally, the review will focus on in situ and ex situ modifications of BC and its applications in tissue engineering, particularly in bone regeneration and wound dressing. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  5. Phosphoethanolamine cellulose: A naturally produced chemically modified cellulose.

    PubMed

    Thongsomboon, Wiriya; Serra, Diego O; Possling, Alexandra; Hadjineophytou, Chris; Hengge, Regine; Cegelski, Lynette

    2018-01-19

    Cellulose is a major contributor to the chemical and mechanical properties of plants and assumes structural roles in bacterial communities termed biofilms. We find that Escherichia coli produces chemically modified cellulose that is required for extracellular matrix assembly and biofilm architecture. Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the intact and insoluble material elucidates the zwitterionic phosphoethanolamine modification that had evaded detection by conventional methods. Installation of the phosphoethanolamine group requires BcsG, a proposed phosphoethanolamine transferase, with biofilm-promoting cyclic diguanylate monophosphate input through a BcsE-BcsF-BcsG transmembrane signaling pathway. The bcsEFG operon is present in many bacteria, including Salmonella species, that also produce the modified cellulose. The discovery of phosphoethanolamine cellulose and the genetic and molecular basis for its production offers opportunities to modulate its production in bacteria and inspires efforts to biosynthetically engineer alternatively modified cellulosic materials. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

  6. Ultrafine nano-network structured bacterial cellulose as reductant and bridging ligands to fabricate ultrathin K-birnessite type MnO2 nanosheets for supercapacitors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Xiaojuan; He, Mingqian; He, Ping; Li, Caixia; Liu, Huanhuan; Zhang, Xingquan; Ma, Yongjun

    2018-03-01

    In this work, nanostructured ultrathin K-birnessite type MnO2 nanosheets are successfully prepared by a rapid and environmently friendly hydrothermal method, which involves only a facile redox reaction between KMnO4 and nano-network structured bacterial cellulose with abundant hydroxyl groups. The results show that the unique three-dimensional interwoven structured bacterial cellulose acts as not only reductant but also bridging ligands for assembling nanoscaled building units to control the desired morphology of prepared MnO2. Furthermore, electrochemical performances of prepared MnO2 are investigated as electrode materials for supercapacitors by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge and electrochemical impedance spectrum in 1.0 M Na2SO4 electrolyte. The resulting ultrathin K-birnessite type MnO2 nanosheets based electrode exhibits higher capacitance (328.2 F g-1 at 0.2 A g-1), excellent rate capability (328.2 F g-1 and 200.4 F g-1 at 0.2 A g-1 and 2.0 A g-1, respectively) and satisfactory cyclic stability (91.6% of initial capacitance even after 2000 cycles at 3.0 A g-1). This work suggests that bacterial cellulose as reductant is a promising candidate in the development of nanostructures of metal oxides.

  7. Multifunctional PLA-PHB/cellulose nanocrystal films: processing, structural and thermal properties.

    PubMed

    Arrieta, M P; Fortunati, E; Dominici, F; Rayón, E; López, J; Kenny, J M

    2014-07-17

    Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) synthesized from microcrystalline cellulose by acid hydrolysis were added into poly(lactic acid)-poly(hydroxybutyrate) (PLA-PHB) blends to improve the final properties of the multifunctional systems. CNC were also modified with a surfactant (CNCs) to increase the interfacial adhesion in the systems maintaining the thermal stability. Firstly, masterbatch pellets were obtained for each formulation to improve the dispersion of the cellulose structures in the PLA-PHB and then nanocomposite films were processed. The thermal stability as well as the morphological and structural properties of nanocomposites was investigated. While PHB increased the PLA crystallinity due to its nucleation effect, well dispersed CNC and CNCs not only increased the crystallinity but also improved the processability, the thermal stability and the interaction between both polymers especially in the case of the modified CNCs based PLA-PHB formulation. Likewise, CNCs were better dispersed in PLA-CNCs and PLA-PHB-CNCs, than CNC. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Cellulose Nanofibrils and Mechanism of their Mineralization in Biomimetic Synthesis of Hydroxyapatite/Native Bacterial Cellulose Nanocomposites: Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

    PubMed

    Lukasheva, N V; Tolmachev, D A

    2016-01-12

    Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of a nanofibril of native bacterial cellulose (BC) in solutions of mineral ions is presented. The supersaturated calcium-phosphate (CP) solution with the ionic composition of hydroxyapatite and CaCl2 solutions with the concentrations below, equal to, and above the solubility limits are simulated. The influence of solvation models (TIP3P and TIP4P-ew water models) on structural characteristics of the simulated nanofibril and on the crystal nucleation process is assessed. The structural characteristics of cellulose nanofibrils (in particular, of the surface layer) are found to be nearly independent of the solvation models used in the simulation and on the presence of ions in the solutions. It is shown that ionic clusters are formed in the solution rather than on the fibril surface. The cluster sizes are slightly different for the two water models. The effect of the ion-ion interaction parameters on the results is discussed. The main conclusion is that the activity of hydroxyl groups on the BC fibril surface is not high enough to cause adsorption of Ca(2+) ions from the solution. Therefore, the nucleation of CP crystals takes place initially in solution, and then the crystallites formed can be adsorbed on BC nanofibril surfaces.

  9. Pretreatment of Cellulose By Electron Beam Irradiation Method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jusri, N. A. A.; Azizan, A.; Ibrahim, N.; Salleh, R. Mohd; Rahman, M. F. Abd

    2018-05-01

    Pretreatment process of lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) to produce biofuel has been conducted by using various methods including physical, chemical, physicochemical as well as biological. The conversion of bioethanol process typically involves several steps which consist of pretreatment, hydrolysis, fermentation and separation. In this project, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was used in replacement of LCB since cellulose has the highest content of LCB for the purpose of investigating the effectiveness of new pretreatment method using radiation technology. Irradiation with different doses (100 kGy to 1000 kGy) was conducted by using electron beam accelerator equipment at Agensi Nuklear Malaysia. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analyses were studied to further understand the effect of the suggested pretreatment step to the content of MCC. Through this method namely IRR-LCB, an ideal and optimal condition for pretreatment prior to the production of biofuel by using LCB may be introduced.

  10. Low melting point pyridinium ionic liquid pretreatment for enhancing enzymatic saccharification of cellulosic biomass.

    PubMed

    Uju; Nakamoto, Aya; Shoda, Yasuhiro; Goto, Masahiro; Tokuhara, Wataru; Noritake, Yoshiyuki; Katahira, Satoshi; Ishida, Nobuhiro; Ogino, Chiaki; Kamiya, Noriho

    2013-05-01

    The potential of 1-hexylpyridinium chloride ([Hpy][Cl]), to pretreat cellulosic feedstocks was investigated using microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel) and Bagasse at 80 °C or 100 °C. Short [Hpy][Cl] pretreatments, <30 min, at lower temperature accelerate subsequent enzymatic saccharification of Avicel. Over 95% conversion of pretreated Avicel to glucose was attained after 24h enzymatic saccharification under optimal conditions, whereas regenerated Bagasse showed 1-3-fold higher conversion than untreated biomass. FT-IR analysis of both Avicel and Bagasse samples pretreated with [Hpy][Cl] or 1-ethyl-3-methyimidazolium acetate ([Emim][OAc]) revealed that these ionic liquids behaved differently during pretreatment. [Hpy][Cl] pretreatment for an extended duration (180 min) released mono- and disaccharides without using cellulase enzymes, suggesting [Hpy][Cl] has capability for direct saccharification of cellulosic feedstocks. On the basis of the results obtained, [Hpy][Cl] pretreatment enhanced initial reaction rates in enzymatic saccharification by either crystalline polymorphic alteration of cellulose or partial degradation of the crystalline cellulosic fraction in biomass. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Evaluation of cellulose-binding domain fused to a lipase for the lipase immobilization.

    PubMed

    Hwang, Sangpill; Ahn, Jungoh; Lee, Sumin; Lee, Tai Gyu; Haam, Seungjoo; Lee, Kangtaek; Ahn, Ik-Sung; Jung, Joon-Ki

    2004-04-01

    A cellulose-binding domain (CBD) fragment of a cellulase gene of Trichoderma hazianum was fused to a lipase gene of Bacillus stearothermophilus L1 to make a gene cluster for CBD-BSL lipase. The specific activity of CBD-BSL lipase for oil hydrolysis increased by 33% after being immobilized on Avicel (microcrystalline cellulose), whereas those of CBD-BSL lipase and BSL lipase decreased by 16% and 54%, respectively, after being immobilized on silica gel. Although the loss of activity of an enzyme immobilized by adsorption has been reported previously, the loss of activity of the CBD-BSL lipase immobilized on Avicel was less than 3% after 12 h due to the irreversible binding of CBD to Avicel.

  12. Applicability of bacterial cellulose as an alternative to paper points in endodontic treatment.

    PubMed

    Yoshino, Aya; Tabuchi, Mari; Uo, Motohiro; Tatsumi, Hiroto; Hideshima, Katsumi; Kondo, Seiji; Sekine, Joji

    2013-04-01

    Dental root canal treatment is required when dental caries progress to infection of the dental pulp. A major goal of this treatment is to provide complete decontamination of the dental root canal system. However, the morphology of dental root canal systems is complex, and many human dental roots have inaccessible areas. In addition, dental reinfection is fairly common. In conventional treatment, a cotton pellet and paper point made from plant cellulose is used to dry and sterilize the dental root canal. Such sterilization requires a treatment material with high absorbency to remove any residue, the ability to improve the efficacy of intracanal medication and high biocompatibility. Bacterial cellulose (BC) is produced by certain strains of bacteria. In this study, we developed BC in a pointed form and evaluated its applicability as a novel material for dental canal treatment with regard to solution absorption, expansion, tensile strength, drug release and biocompatibility. We found that BC has excellent material and biological characteristics compared with conventional materials, such as paper points (plant cellulose). BC showed noticeably higher absorption and expansion than paper points, and maintained a high tensile strength even when wet. The cumulative release of a model drug was significantly greater from BC than from paper points, and BC showed greater compatibility than paper points. Taken together, BC has great potential for use in dental root canal treatment. Copyright © 2012 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Green thermal-assisted synthesis and characterization of novel cellulose-Mg(OH)2 nanocomposite in PEG/NaOH solvent.

    PubMed

    Ponomarev, Nikolai; Repo, Eveliina; Srivastava, Varsha; Sillanpää, Mika

    2017-11-15

    Synthesis of nanocomposites was performed using microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), MgCl 2 in PEG/NaOH solvent by a thermal-assisted method at different temperatures by varying time and the amount of MCC. Results of XRD, FTIR, and EDS mapping showed that the materials consisted of only cellulose (CL) and magnesium hydroxide (MH). According to FTIR and XRD, it was found that crystallinity of MH in cellulose nanocomposites is increased with temperature and heating time and decreased with increasing of cellulose amount. The PEG/NaOH solvent has a significant effect on cellulose and Mg(OH) 2 morphology. BET and BJH results demonstrated the effects of temperature and cellulose amount on the pore size corresponding to mesoporous materials. TG and DTG analyses showed the increased thermal stability of cellulose nanocomposites with increasing temperature. TEM and SEM analyses showed an even distribution of MH nanostructures with various morphology in the cellulose matrix. The cellulose presented as the polymer matrix in the nanocomposites. It was supposed the possible interaction between cellulose and Mg(OH) 2 . The novel synthesis method used in this study is feasible, cost-efficient and environmentally friendly. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Modification of Bacterial Cellulose Biofilms with Xylan Polyelectrolytes.

    PubMed

    Santos, Sara M; Carbajo, José M; Gómez, Nuria; Ladero, Miguel; Villar, Juan C

    2017-11-28

    The effect of the addition of two [4-butyltrimethylammonium]-xylan chloride polyelectrolytes (BTMAXs) on bacterial cellulose (BC) was evaluated. The first strategy was to add the polyelectrolytes to the culture medium together with a cell suspension of the bacterium. After one week of cultivation, the films were collected and purified. The second approach consisted of obtaining a purified and homogenized BC, to which the polyelectrolytes were added subsequently. The films were characterized in terms of tear and burst indexes, optical properties, surface free energy, static contact angle, Gurley porosity, SEM, X-ray diffraction and AFM. Although there are small differences in mechanical and optical properties between the nanocomposites and control films, the films obtained by BC synthesis in the presence of BTMAXs were remarkably less opaque, rougher, and had a much lower specular gloss. The surface free energy depends on the BTMAXs addition method. The crystallinity of the composites is lower than that of the control material, with a higher reduction of this parameter in the composites obtained by adding the BTMAXs to the culture medium. In view of these results, it can be concluded that BC-BTMAX composites are a promising new material, for example, for paper restoration.

  15. Alteration of in vivo cellulose ribbon assembly by carboxymethylcellulose and other cellulose derivatives.

    PubMed

    Haigler, C H; White, A R; Brown, R M; Cooper, K M

    1982-07-01

    In vivo cellulose ribbon assembly by the Gram-negative bacterium Acetobacter xylinum can be altered by incubation in carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), a negatively charged water-soluble cellulose derivative, and also by incubation in a variety of neutral, water-soluble cellulose derivatives. In the presence of all of these substituted celluloses, normal fasciation of microfibril bundles to form the typical twisting ribbon is prevented. Alteration of ribbon assembly is most extensive in the presence of CMC, which often induces synthesis of separate, intertwining bundles of microfibrils. Freeze-etch preparations of the bacterial outer membrane suggest that particles that are thought to be associated with cellulose synthesis or extrusion may be specifically organized to mediate synthesis of microfibril bundles. These data support the previous hypothesis that the cellulose ribbon of A. xylinum is formed by a hierarchical, cell-directed, self-assembly process. The relationship of these results to the regulation of cellulose microfibril size and wall extensibility in plant cell walls is discussed.

  16. Bacterial cellulose may provide the microbial-life biosignature in the rock records

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zaets, I.; Podolich, O.; Kukharenko, O.; Reshetnyak, G.; Shpylova, S.; Sosnin, M.; Khirunenko, L.; Kozyrovska, N.; de Vera, J.-P.

    2014-03-01

    Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a matrix for a biofilm formation, which is critical for survival and persistence of microbes in harsh environments. BC could play a significant role in the formation of microbial mats in pristine ecosystems on Earth. The prime objective of this study was to measure to what extent spectral and other characteristics of BC were changed under the performance of BC interaction with the earthly rock - anorthosite - via microorganisms. The spectral analyses (Fourier Transform Infrared FT-IR, spectroscopy, and atomic absorption spectroscopy) showed unprecedented accumulation of chemical elements in the BC-based biofilm. The absorption capacity of IR by BC was shielded a little by mineral crust formed by microorganisms on the BC-based biofilm surface, especially clearly seen in the range of 1200-900 cm-1 in FT-IR spectra. Confocal scanning laser microscopy analysis revealed that elements bioleached from anorthosite created surface coats on the BC nanofibril web. At the same time, the vibrational spectra bands showed the presence of the characteristic region of anomeric carbons (960-730 cm-1), wherein a band at 897 cm-1 confirmed the presence of β-1, 4-linkages, which may serve as the cellulose fingerprint region. Results show that BC may be a biosignature for search signs of living organisms in rock records.

  17. Antimicrobial bacterial cellulose nanocomposites prepared by in situ polymerization of 2-aminoethyl methacrylate.

    PubMed

    Figueiredo, Ana R P; Figueiredo, Andrea G P R; Silva, Nuno H C S; Barros-Timmons, Ana; Almeida, Adelaide; Silvestre, Armando J D; Freire, Carmen S R

    2015-06-05

    Antimicrobial bacterial cellulose/poly(2-aminoethyl methacrylate) (BC/PAEM) nanocomposites were prepared by in situ radical polymerization of 2-aminoethyl methacrylate, using variable amounts of N,N-methylenebis(acrylamide) (MBA) as cross-linker. The obtained nanocomposites were characterized in terms of their structure, morphology, thermal stability, mechanical properties and antibacterial activity. The ensuing composite membranes were significantly more transparent than those of pure BC and showed improved thermal and mechanical properties. The antibacterial activity of the obtained nanocomposites was assessed towards a recombinant bioluminescent Escherichia coli and only the non-crosslinked nanocomposite (BC/PAEM) proved to have antibacterial activity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Probing crystal structure and mesoscale assembly of cellulose microfibrils in plant cell walls, tunicate tests, and bacterial films using vibrational sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy.

    PubMed

    Lee, Christopher M; Kafle, Kabindra; Park, Yong Bum; Kim, Seong H

    2014-06-14

    This study reports that the noncentrosymmetry and phase synchronization requirements of the sum frequency generation (SFG) process can be used to distinguish the three-dimensional organization of crystalline cellulose distributed in amorphous matrices. Crystalline cellulose is produced as microfibrils with a few nanometer diameters by plants, tunicates, and bacteria. Crystalline cellulose microfibrils are embedded in wall matrix polymers and assembled into hierarchical structures that are precisely designed for specific biological and mechanical functions. The cellulose microfibril assemblies inside cell walls are extremely difficult to probe. The comparison of vibrational SFG spectra of uniaxially-aligned and disordered films of cellulose Iβ nanocrystals revealed that the spectral features cannot be fully explained with the crystallographic unit structure of cellulose. The overall SFG intensity, the alkyl peak shape, and the alkyl/hydroxyl intensity ratio are sensitive to the lateral packing and net directionality of the cellulose microfibrils within the SFG coherence length scale. It was also found that the OH SFG stretch peaks could be deconvoluted to find the polymorphic crystal structures of cellulose (Iα and Iβ). These findings were used to investigate the cellulose crystal structure and mesoscale cellulose microfibril packing in intact plant cell walls, tunicate tests, and bacterial films.

  19. Hydrothermal synthesis of bacterial cellulose-copper oxide nanocomposites and evaluation of their antimicrobial activity.

    PubMed

    Araújo, Inês M S; Silva, Robson R; Pacheco, Guilherme; Lustri, Wilton R; Tercjak, Agnieszka; Gutierrez, Junkal; Júnior, José R S; Azevedo, Francisco H C; Figuêredo, Girlene S; Vega, Maria L; Ribeiro, Sidney J L; Barud, Hernane S

    2018-01-01

    In this work, for the first time bacterial cellulose (BC) hydrogel membranes were used for the fabrication of antimicrobial cellulosic nanocomposites by hydrothermal deposition of Cu derivative nanoparticles (i.e.Cu(0) and CuxOy species). BC-Cu nanocomposites were characterized by FTIR, SEM, AFM, XRD and TGA, to study the effect of hydrothermal processing time on the final physicochemical properties of final products. XRD result show that depending on heating time (3-48h), different CuxOy phases were achieved. SEM and AFM analyses unveil the presence of the Cu(0) and copper CuxOy nanoparticles over BC fibrils while the surface of 3D network became more compact and smother for longer heating times. Furthermore, the increase of heating time placed deleterious effect on the structure of BC network leading to decrease of BC crystallinity as well as of the on-set degradation temperature. Notwithstanding, BC-Cu nanocomposites showed excellent antimicrobial activity against E. coli, S. aureus and Salmonella bacteria suggesting potential applications as bactericidal films. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Cellulose Synthesis in Agrobacterium tumefaciens

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Alan R. White; Ann G. Matthysse

    2004-07-31

    We have cloned the celC gene and its homologue from E. coli, yhjM, in an expression vector and expressed the both genes in E. coli; we have determined that the YhjM protein is able to complement in vitro cellulose synthesis by extracts of A. tumefaciens celC mutants, we have purified the YhjM protein product and are currently examining its enzymatic activity; we have examined whole cell extracts of CelC and various other cellulose mutants and wild type bacteria for the presence of cellulose oligomers and cellulose; we have examined the ability of extracts of wild type and cellulose mutants includingmore » CelC to incorporate UDP-14C-glucose into cellulose and into water-soluble, ethanol-insoluble oligosaccharides; we have made mutants which synthesize greater amounts of cellulose than the wild type; and we have examined the role of cellulose in the formation of biofilms by A. tumefaciens. In addition we have examined the ability of a putative cellulose synthase gene from the tunicate Ciona savignyi to complement an A. tumefaciens celA mutant. The greatest difference between our knowledge of bacterial cellulose synthesis when we started this project and current knowledge is that in 1999 when we wrote the original grant very few bacteria were known to synthesize cellulose and genes involved in this synthesis were sequenced only from Acetobacter species, A. tumefaciens and Rhizobium leguminosarum. Currently many bacteria are known to synthesize cellulose and genes that may be involved have been sequenced from more than 10 species of bacteria. This additional information has raised the possibility of attempting to use genes from one bacterium to complement mutants in another bacterium. This will enable us to examine the question of which genes are responsible for the three dimensional structure of cellulose (since this differs among bacterial species) and also to examine the interactions between the various proteins required for cellulose synthesis. We have carried

  1. Structure of a cellulose degrading bacterial community during anaerobic digestion.

    PubMed

    O'Sullivan, Cathryn A; Burrell, Paul C; Clarke, William P; Blackall, Linda L

    2005-12-30

    It is widely accepted that cellulose is the rate-limiting substrate in the anaerobic digestion of organic solid wastes and that cellulose solubilisation is largely mediated by surface attached bacteria. However, little is known about the identity or the ecophysiology of cellulolytic microorganisms from landfills and anaerobic digesters. The aim of this study was to investigate an enriched cellulolytic microbial community from an anaerobic batch reactor. Chemical oxygen demand balancing was used to calculate the cellulose solubilisation rate and the degree of cellulose solubilisation. Fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) was used to assess the relative abundance and physical location of three groups of bacteria belonging to the Clostridium lineage of the Firmicutes that have been implicated as the dominant cellulose degraders in this system. Quantitation of the relative abundance using FISH showed that there were changes in the microbial community structure throughout the digestion. However, comparison of these results to the process data reveals that these changes had no impact on the cellulose solubilisation in the reactor. The rate of cellulose solubilisation was approximately stable for much of the digestion despite changes in the cellulolytic population. The solubilisation rate appears to be most strongly affected by the rate of surface area colonisation and the biofilm architecture with the accepted model of first order kinetics due to surface area limitation applying only when the cellulose particles are fully covered with a thin layer of cells. Copyright 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

  2. Homogeneous suspensions of individualized microfibrils from TEMPO-catalyzed oxidation of native cellulose.

    PubMed

    Saito, Tsuguyuki; Nishiyama, Yoshiharu; Putaux, Jean-Luc; Vignon, Michel; Isogai, Akira

    2006-06-01

    Never-dried native celluloses (bleached sulfite wood pulp, cotton, tunicin, and bacterial cellulose) were disintegrated into individual microfibrils after oxidation mediated by the 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) radical followed by a homogenizing mechanical treatment. When oxidized with 3.6 mmol of NaClO per gram of cellulose, almost the totality of sulfite wood pulp and cotton were readily disintegrated into long individual microfibrils by a treatment with a Waring Blendor, yielding transparent and highly viscous suspensions. When observed by transmission electron microscopy, the wood pulp and cotton microfibrils exhibited a regular width of 3-5 nm. Tunicin and bacterial cellulose could be disintegrated by sonication. A bulk degree of oxidation of about 0.2 per one anhydroglucose unit of cellulose was necessary for a smooth disintegration of sulfite wood pulp, whereas only small amounts of independent microfibrils were obtained at lower oxidation levels. This limiting degree of oxidation decreased in the following order: sulfite wood pulp > cotton > bacterial cellulose, tunicin.

  3. Production of bioplastic from jackfruit seed starch (Artocarpus heterophyllus) reinforced with microcrystalline cellulose from cocoa pod husk (Theobroma cacao L.) using glycerol as plasticizer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lubis, M.; Gana, A.; Maysarah, S.; Ginting, M. H. S.; Harahap, M. B.

    2018-02-01

    The production of bioplastic from jackfruit seed starch reinforced with microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) cocoa pod husk using glycerol as plasticizer was investigated to determine the most optimum mass and volume of MCC and glycerol in producing bioplastics. To produce MCC, Cocoa pod husk was subjected to alkali treatment, bleaching, and hydrochloric acid hydrolysis. The degree of crystallinity of MCC, were determined by XRD, functional group by FT-IR and morphologycal analysis by SEM. Analysis of bioplastic mechanical properties includes tensile strength and elongation at break based on ASTM D882 standard. Bioplastics were produced by casting method from jackfruit seed starch and reinforced with MCC from cocoa pod husk at starch mass to MCC ratio of 6:4, 7:3, 8:2, and 9:1, using glycerol as plasticizer at 20%, 25%, 30% (wt/v of glycerol to starch). From the result, the isolated MCC from cocoa pod husk were in a form of rod-like shape of length 5-10 µm with diameter 11.635 nm and 74% crystallinity. The highest tensile strength of bioplastics was obtained at starch to MCC mass ratio of 8:2, addition of 20% glycerol with measured tensile strength of 0.637 MPa and elongation at break of 7.04%. Transform infrared spectroscopy showed the functional groups of bioplastics, which the majority of O-H groups were found at the bioplastics with reinforcing filler MCC that represented substantial hydrogen bonds.

  4. Producing Solar Cells By Surface Preparation For Accelerated Nucleation Of Microcrystalline Silicon On Heterogeneous Substrates.

    DOEpatents

    Yang, Liyou; Chen, Liangfan

    1998-03-24

    Attractive multi-junction solar cells and single junction solar cells with excellent conversion efficiency can be produced with a microcrystalline tunnel junction, microcrystalline recombination junction or one or more microcrystalline doped layers by special plasma deposition processes which includes plasma etching with only hydrogen or other specified etchants to enhance microcrystalline growth followed by microcrystalline. nucleation with a doped hydrogen-diluted feedstock.

  5. Cellulose biosynthesis by the beta-proteobacterium, Chromobacterium violaceum.

    PubMed

    Recouvreux, Derce O S; Carminatti, Claudimir A; Pitlovanciv, Ana K; Rambo, Carlos R; Porto, Luismar M; Antônio, Regina V

    2008-11-01

    The Chromobacterium violaceum ATCC 12472 genome was sequenced by The Brazilian National Genome Project Consortium. Previous annotation reported the presence of cellulose biosynthesis genes in that genome. Analysis of these genes showed that, as observed in other bacteria, they are organized in two operons. In the present work, experimental evidences of the presence of cellulose in the extracellular matrix of the biofilm produced by C. violaceum in static cultures are shown. Biofilm samples were enzymatically digested by cellulase, releasing glucose units, suggesting the presence of cellulose as an extracellular matrix component. Fluorescence microscopy observations showed that C. violaceum produces a cellulase-sensitive extracellular matrix composed of fibers able to bind calcofluor. C. violaceum grows on medium containing Congo red, forming brown-red colonies. Together, these results suggest that cellulase-susceptible matrix material is cellulose. Scanning electronic microscopy analysis showed that the extracellular matrix exhibited a network of microfibrils, typical of bacterial cellulose. Although cellulose production is widely distributed between several bacterial species, including at least the groups of Gram-negative proteobacteria alpha and gamma, we give for the first time experimental evidence for cellulose production in beta-proteobacteria.

  6. Saccharification of Cellulose by Recombinant Rhodococcus opacus PD630 Strains

    PubMed Central

    Hetzler, Stephan; Bröker, Daniel

    2013-01-01

    The noncellulolytic actinomycete Rhodococcus opacus strain PD630 is the model oleaginous prokaryote with regard to the accumulation and biosynthesis of lipids, which serve as carbon and energy storage compounds and can account for as much as 87% of the dry mass of the cell in this strain. In order to establish cellulose degradation in R. opacus PD630, we engineered strains that episomally expressed six different cellulase genes from Cellulomonas fimi ATCC 484 (cenABC, cex, cbhA) and Thermobifida fusca DSM43792 (cel6A), thereby enabling R. opacus PD630 to degrade cellulosic substrates to cellobiose. Of all the enzymes tested, five exhibited a cellulase activity toward carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and/or microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) as high as 0.313 ± 0.01 U · ml−1, but recombinant strains also hydrolyzed cotton, birch cellulose, copy paper, and wheat straw. Cocultivations of recombinant strains expressing different cellulase genes with MCC as the substrate were carried out to identify an appropriate set of cellulases for efficient hydrolysis of cellulose by R. opacus. Based on these experiments, the multicellulase gene expression plasmid pCellulose was constructed, which enabled R. opacus PD630 to hydrolyze as much as 9.3% ± 0.6% (wt/vol) of the cellulose provided. For the direct production of lipids from birch cellulose, a two-step cocultivation experiment was carried out. In the first step, 20% (wt/vol) of the substrate was hydrolyzed by recombinant strains expressing the whole set of cellulase genes. The second step was performed by a recombinant cellobiose-utilizing strain of R. opacus PD630, which accumulated 15.1% (wt/wt) fatty acids from the cellobiose formed in the first step. PMID:23793636

  7. Synthesis of galactooligosaccharides by CBD fusion β-galactosidase immobilized on cellulose.

    PubMed

    Lu, Lili; Xu, Shuze; Zhao, Renfei; Zhang, Dayu; Li, Zhengyi; Li, Yumei; Xiao, Min

    2012-07-01

    The β-galactosidase gene (bgaL3) was cloned from Lactobacillus bulgaricus L3 and fused with cellulose binding domain (CBD) using pET-35b (+) vector in Escherichia coli. The resulting fusion protein (CBD-BgaL3) was directly adsorbed onto microcrystalline cellulose with a high immobilization efficiency of 61%. A gram of cellulose was found to absorb 97.6 U of enzyme in the solution containing 100mM NaCl (pH 5.8) at room temperature for 20 min. The enzymatic and transglycosylation characteristics of the immobilized CBD-BgaL3 were similar to the free form. Using the immobilized enzyme as the catalyst, the yield of galactooligosaccharides (GOS) reached a maximum of 49% (w/w) from 400 g/L lactose (pH 7.6) at 45 °C for 75 min, with a high productivity of 156.8 g/L/h. Reusability assay was subsequently performed under the same reaction conditions. The immobilized enzyme could retain over 85% activity after twenty batches with the GOS yields all above 40%. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Flexible polypyrrole/copper sulfide/bacterial cellulose nanofibrous composite membranes as supercapacitor electrodes.

    PubMed

    Peng, Shuo; Fan, Lingling; Wei, Chengzhuo; Liu, Xiaohong; Zhang, Hongwei; Xu, Weilin; Xu, Jie

    2017-02-10

    Polypyrrole (PPy) and copper sulfide (CuS) have been successfully deposited on bacterial cellulose (BC) membranes to prepare nanofibrous composite electrodes of PPy/CuS/BC for flexible supercapacitor applications. The introduction of CuS remarkably improves the specific capacitance and cycling stability of BC-based electrodes. The specific capacitance of the supercapacitors based on the PPy/CuS/BC electrodes can reach to about 580Fg -1 at a current density of 0.8mAcm -2 and can retain about 73% of their initial value after 300 cycles, while the PPy/BC-based device could retain only 21.7% after 300 cycles. This work provides a promising approach to fabricate cost-effective and flexible nanofibrous composite membranes for high-performance supercapacitor electrodes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Cellulose effects on morphology and elasticity of Vibrio fischeri biofilms.

    PubMed

    Ziemba, Christopher; Shabtai, Yael; Piatkovsky, Maria; Herzberg, Moshe

    2016-01-01

    Cellulose effects on Vibrio fischeri biofilm morphology were tested for the wild-type and two of its isogenic mutants that either exhibit increased cellulose production or do not produce cellulose at all. Confocal laser scanning microscopy imaging of each biofilm revealed that total sessile volume increases with cellulose expression, but the size of colonies formed with cellulose was smaller, creating a more diffuse biofilm. These morphological differences were not attributed to variations in bacterial deposition, extracellular polymeric substances affinity to the surface or bacterial growth. A positive correlation was found between cellulose expression, Young's (elastic) modulus of the biofilm analyzed with atomic force microscope and shear modulus of the related extracellular polymeric substances layers analyzed with quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring. Cellulose production also correlated positively with concentrations of extracellular DNA. A significant negative correlation was observed between cellulose expression and rates of diffusion through the extracellular polymeric substances. The difference observed in biofilm morphology is suggested as a combined result of cellulose and likely extracellular DNA (i) increasing biofilm Young's modulus, making shear removal more difficult, and (ii) decreased diffusion rate of nutrients and wastes into and out of the biofilm, which effectively limits colony size.

  10. Simple preparation of Fenton catalyst@bacterial cellulose for waste water treatment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wibowo, Arie; Febi Indrawan, Radian; Triadhi, Untung; Hasdi Aimon, Akfiny; Iskandar, Ferry; Ardy, Husaini

    2018-02-01

    Heterogeneous fenton catalyst is one of the attractive technologies for destruction of persistent and non-biodegradable pollutant in wastewater, because it can be used in wide range of pH and recyclable. Herein, commercial bacterial celluloses (BCs) were used as an alternative support of fenton catalyst to improve their catalytic activity. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) observations indicated that the presence of BCs and decreasing precursor concentration might promote formation of smaller particle sizes of catalyst from 3.5 μm of bare catalyst to 0.7 μm of catalyst@BC. UV-vis measurement showed that fast degradation of dyes with half-time degradation at around 25 min was observed in sample using catalyst@BCs with precursor concentration of 0.01 M. Successful preparation of heterogeneous fenton catalyst with smaller particle size and better catalytic activity is important for their application in wastewater treatment.

  11. Thin stillage supplementation greatly enhances bacterial cellulose production by Gluconacetobacter xylinus.

    PubMed

    Wu, Jyh-Ming; Liu, Ren-Han

    2012-09-01

    Thin stillage (TS), a wastewater from rice wine distillery can well sustain the growth of Gluconacetobacter xylinus for production of bacterial cellulose (BC). When used as a supplement to the traditional BC production medium (Hestrin and Schramm medium), the enhancement of BC production increased with the amount of TS supplemented in a static culture of G. xylinus. When TS was employed to replace distilled water for preparing HS medium (100%TS-HS medium), the BC production in this 100%TS-HS medium was enhanced 2.5-fold to a concentration of 10.38 g/l with sugar to BC conversion yield of 57% after 7 days cultivation. The cost-free TS as a supplement in BC production medium not only can greatly enhance the BC production, but also can effectively dispose the nuisance wastewater of rice wine distillery. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Role of water-soluble polysaccharides in bacterial cellulose production.

    PubMed

    Ishida, Takehiko; Mitarai, Makoto; Sugano, Yasushi; Shoda, Makoto

    2003-08-20

    Acetobacter xylinum BPR2001 produces water-insoluble bacterial cellulose (BC) and a water-soluble polysaccharide called acetan in corn steep liquor-fructose medium. Acetobacter xylinum EP1, which is incapable of acetan production was derived by disrupting the aceA gene of BPR2001. The BC production by EP1 (2.88 g/L) was lower than that by BPR2001 (4.6 g/L) in baffled-flask culture. When purified acetan or agar was added to the medium from the start of cultivation, the BC production by EP1 was enhanced and the final BC yield of EP1 was almost the same as that of BPR2001. A similar improvement of BC production by EP1 by the addition of agar was also confirmed by cultivation in a 50-L airlift reactor. From these results, the role of acetan in BC production is associated with the increase in the viscosity of the culture medium which may hinder coagulation of BC and cells in the culture, thereby accelerating the growth of BPR2001 and BC production by BPR2001. Copyright 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 83: 474-478, 2003.

  13. The operable modeling of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of ethanol production from cellulose.

    PubMed

    Shen, Jiacheng; Agblevor, Foster A

    2010-03-01

    An operable batch model of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) for ethanol production from cellulose has been developed. The model includes four ordinary differential equations that describe the changes of cellobiose, glucose, yeast, and ethanol concentrations with respect to time. These equations were used to simulate the experimental data of the four main components in the SSF process of ethanol production from microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel PH101). The model parameters at 95% confidence intervals were determined by a MATLAB program based on the batch experimental data of the SSF. Both experimental data and model simulations showed that the cell growth was the rate-controlling step at the initial period in a series of reactions of cellulose to ethanol, and later, the conversion of cellulose to cellobiose controlled the process. The batch model was extended to the continuous and fed-batch operating models. For the continuous operation in the SSF, the ethanol productivities increased with increasing dilution rate, until a maximum value was attained, and rapidly decreased as the dilution rate approached the washout point. The model also predicted a relatively high ethanol mass for the fed-batch operation than the batch operation.

  14. Microwave-assisted rapid synthesis and characterization of CaF₂ particles-filled cellulose nanocomposites in ionic liquid.

    PubMed

    Deng, Fu; Fu, Lian-Hua; Ma, Ming-Guo

    2015-05-05

    In this article, we try to compound cellulose/alkali earth metal fluorides (MF2, M=Ca, Mg, Sr, Ba) nanocomposites via microwave-assisted ionic liquid method, wherein cellulose/CaF2 and cellulose/MgF2 were successfully synthesized through this method while cellulose/SrF2 and cellulose/BaF2 could not be synthesized. We focused on the synthesis of cellulose/CaF2 and investigated the influences of the different time and different temperature for the synthesis of cellulose/CaF2 nanocomposites. The influence of different heating methods such as oil-bath heating method was also studied. Ionic liquid ([Bmim][BF4]) was used for dissolving microcrystalline cellulose and providing the source of fluoride ionic and the alkali earth metal nitrate (Ca(NO3)2, Mg(NO3)2, Sr(NO3)2, and Ba(NO3)2) was used as the reaction initiator. They were investigated by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), derivative thermogravimetric (DTG), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectra (EDS). The different heating modes have influence on the morphology and property. The different temperature and heating time also have a certain influence on the morphology and crystallinity of calcium fluoride. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Bacterial cellulose skin masks-Properties and sensory tests.

    PubMed

    Pacheco, Guilherme; de Mello, Carolina Véspoli; Chiari-Andréo, Bruna Galdorfini; Isaac, Vera Lucia Borges; Ribeiro, Sidney José Lima; Pecoraro, Édison; Trovatti, Eliane

    2017-09-29

    Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a versatile material produced by microorganisms in the form of a membranous hydrogel, totally biocompatible, and endowed with high mechanical strength. Its high water-holding capacity based on its highly porous nanofibrillar structure allows BC to incorporate and to release substances very fast, thus being suitable for the preparation of skincare masks. The preparation and characterization of cosmetic masks based on BC membranes and active cosmetics. The masks were prepared by the simple incorporation of the cosmetic actives into BC membranes, used as a swelling matrix. The masks were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), sensory tests, and skin moisture tests on volunteers. The results of sensory tests revealed the good performance of BC, being considered effective by the panel of volunteers, specially for adhesion to the skin (7.7 at the score scale), and improvement of the skin moisture (the hydration effect increased 76% in 75% of the volunteers that used vegetable extract mask formulation [VEM]), or a decrease in skin hydration (80% of the volunteers showed 32.6% decrease on skin hydration using propolis extract formulation [PEM] treatment), indicating the BC nanofiber membranes can be used to skincare applications. The results demonstrate the BC can be used as an alternative support for cosmetic actives for skin treatment. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Single Grain Boundary Modeling and Design of Microcrystalline Si Solar Cells.

    PubMed

    Lin, Chu-Hsuan; Hsu, Wen-Tzu; Tai, Cheng-Hung

    2013-01-21

    For photovoltaic applications, microcrystalline silicon has a lot of advantages, such as the ability to absorb the near-infrared part of the solar spectrum. However, there are many dangling bonds at the grain boundary in microcrystalline Si. These dangling bonds would lead to the recombination of photo-generated carriers and decrease the conversion efficiency. Therefore, we included the grain boundary in the numerical study in order to simulate a microcrystalline Si solar cell accurately, designing new three-terminal microcrystalline Si solar cells. The 3-μm-thick three-terminal cell achieved a conversion efficiency of 10.8%, while the efficiency of a typical two-terminal cell is 9.7%. The three-terminal structure increased the J SC but decreased the V OC , and such phenomena are discussed. High-efficiency and low-cost Si-based thin film solar cells can now be designed based on the information provided in this paper.

  17. Single Grain Boundary Modeling and Design of Microcrystalline Si Solar Cells

    PubMed Central

    Lin, Chu-Hsuan; Hsu, Wen-Tzu; Tai, Cheng-Hung

    2013-01-01

    For photovoltaic applications, microcrystalline silicon has a lot of advantages, such as the ability to absorb the near-infrared part of the solar spectrum. However, there are many dangling bonds at the grain boundary in microcrystalline Si. These dangling bonds would lead to the recombination of photo-generated carriers and decrease the conversion efficiency. Therefore, we included the grain boundary in the numerical study in order to simulate a microcrystalline Si solar cell accurately, designing new three-terminal microcrystalline Si solar cells. The 3-μm-thick three-terminal cell achieved a conversion efficiency of 10.8%, while the efficiency of a typical two-terminal cell is 9.7%. The three-terminal structure increased the JSC but decreased the VOC, and such phenomena are discussed. High-efficiency and low-cost Si-based thin film solar cells can now be designed based on the information provided in this paper. PMID:28809309

  18. Influence of ambient moisture on the compaction behavior of microcrystalline cellulose powder undergoing uni-axial compression and roller-compaction: a comparative study using near-infrared spectroscopy.

    PubMed

    Gupta, Abhay; Peck, Garnet E; Miller, Ronald W; Morris, Kenneth R

    2005-10-01

    This study evaluates the effect of variation in the ambient moisture on the compaction behavior of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) powder. The study was conducted by comparing the physico-mechanical properties of, and the near infrared (NIR) spectra collected on, compacts prepared by roller compaction with those collected on simulated ribbons, that is, compacts prepared under uni-axial compression. Relative density, moisture content, tensile strength (TS), and Young modulus were used as key sample attributes for comparison. Samples prepared at constant roller compactor settings and feed mass showed constant density and a decrease in TS with increasing moisture content. Compacts prepared under uni-axial compression at constant pressure and compact mass showed the opposite effect, that is, density increased while TS remained almost constant with increasing moisture content. This suggests difference in the influence of moisture on the material under roller compaction, in which the roll gap (i.e., thickness and therefore density) remains almost constant, vs. under uni-axial compression, in which the thickness is free to change in response to the applied pressure. Key sample attributes were also related to the NIR spectra using multivariate data analysis by the partial least squares projection to latent structures (PLS). Good agreement was observed between the measured and the NIR-PLS predicted values for all key attributes for both, the roller compacted samples as well as the simulated ribbons. Copyright (c) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association

  19. Production of Starch Based Bioplastic from Cassava Peel Reinforced with Microcrystalline Celllulose Avicel PH101 Using Sorbitol as Plasticizer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maulida; Siagian, M.; Tarigan, P.

    2016-04-01

    The production of starch based bioplastics from cassava peel reeinforced with microcrystalline cellulose using sorbitol as plasticizer were investigated. Physical properties of bioplastics were determined by density, water uptake, tensile strength and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. Bioplastics were prepared from cassava peel starch plasticized using sorbitol with variation of 20; 25; 30% (wt/v of sorbitol to starch) reinforced with microcrystalline celllulose (MCC) Avicel PH101 fillers with range of 0 to 6% (wt/wt of MCC to starch). The results showed improvement in tensile strength with higher MCC content up to 9, 12 mpa compared to non-reinforced bioplastics. This could be mainly attributed to the strong hydrogen bonds between MCC and starch. On the contrary, the addition of MCC decreased the elongation at break, density and water uptake. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy showed the functional groups of bioplastics, which the majority of O-H groups were found at the bioplastics with reinforcing filler MCC that represented substantial hydrogen bonds. The highest tensile strength value was obtained for bioplastic with MCC content 6% and sorbitol content 20%. With good adhesion between MCC and starch the production of bioplastics could be widely used as a substitute for conventional plastics with more benefits to the environment.

  20. PVA bio-nanocomposites: a new take-off using cellulose nanocrystals and PLGA nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Rescignano, N; Fortunati, E; Montesano, S; Emiliani, C; Kenny, J M; Martino, S; Armentano, I

    2014-01-01

    The formation of a new generation of hybrid bio-nanocomposites is reported: these are intended at modulating the mechanical, thermal and biocompatibility properties of the poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) by the combination of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and poly (D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) loaded with bovine serum albumin fluorescein isothiocynate conjugate (FITC-BSA). CNC were synthesized from microcrystalline cellulose by hydrolysis, while PLGA nanoparticles were produced by a double emulsion with subsequent solvent evaporation. Firstly, binary bio-nanocomposites with different CNC amounts were developed in order to select the right content of CNC. Next, ternary PVA/CNC/NPs bio-nanocomposites were developed. The addition of CNC increased the elongation properties without compromising the other mechanical responses. Thermal analysis underlined the nucleation effect of the synergic presence of cellulose and nanoparticles. Remarkably, bio-nanocomposite films are suitable to vehiculate biopolymeric nanoparticles to adult bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells successfully, thus representing a new tool for drug delivery strategies. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. NMR relaxometric probing of ionic liquid dynamics and diffusion under mesoscopic confinement within bacterial cellulose ionogels

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smith, Chip J.; Gehrke, Sascha; Hollóczki, Oldamur; Wagle, Durgesh V.; Heitz, Mark P.; Baker, Gary A.

    2018-05-01

    Bacterial cellulose ionogels (BCIGs) represent a new class of material comprising a significant content of entrapped ionic liquid (IL) within a porous network formed from crystalline cellulose microfibrils. BCIGs suggest unique opportunities in separations, optically active materials, solid electrolytes, and drug delivery due to the fact that they can contain as much as 99% of an IL phase by weight, coupled with an inherent flexibility, high optical transparency, and the ability to control ionogel cross-sectional shape and size. To allow for the tailoring of BCIGs for a multitude of applications, it is necessary to better understand the underlying principles of the mesoscopic confinement within these ionogels. Toward this, we present a study of the structural, relaxation, and diffusional properties of the ILs, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([emim][Tf2N]) and 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([bmpy][Tf2N]), using 1H and 19F NMR T1 relaxation times, rotational correlation times, and diffusion ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) diffusion coefficients, accompanied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We observed that the cation methyl groups in both ILs were primary points of interaction with the cellulose chains and, while the pore size in cellulose is rather large, [emim]+ diffusion was slowed by ˜2-fold, whereas [Tf2N]- diffusion was unencumbered by incorporation in the ionogel. While MD simulations of [bmpy][Tf2N] confinement at the interface showed a diffusion coefficient decrease roughly 3-fold compared to the bulk liquid, DOSY measurements did not reveal any significant changes in diffusion. This suggests that the [bmpy][Tf2N] alkyl chains dominate diffusion through formation of apolar domains. This is in contrast to [emim][Tf2N] where delocalized charge appears to preclude apolar domain formation, allowing interfacial effects to be manifested at a longer range in [emim][Tf2N].

  2. Application of Molecular Techniques To Elucidate the Influence of Cellulosic Waste on the Bacterial Community Structure at a Simulated Low-Level-Radioactive-Waste Site▿ †

    PubMed Central

    Field, Erin K.; D'Imperio, Seth; Miller, Amber R.; VanEngelen, Michael R.; Gerlach, Robin; Lee, Brady D.; Apel, William A.; Peyton, Brent M.

    2010-01-01

    Low-level-radioactive-waste (low-level-waste) sites, including those at various U.S. Department of Energy sites, frequently contain cellulosic waste in the form of paper towels, cardboard boxes, or wood contaminated with heavy metals and radionuclides such as chromium and uranium. To understand how the soil microbial community is influenced by the presence of cellulosic waste products, multiple soil samples were obtained from a nonradioactive model low-level-waste test pit at the Idaho National Laboratory. Samples were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene clone libraries and 16S rRNA gene microarray (PhyloChip) analyses. Both methods revealed changes in the bacterial community structure with depth. In all samples, the PhyloChip detected significantly more operational taxonomic units, and therefore relative diversity, than the clone libraries. Diversity indices suggest that diversity is lowest in the fill and fill-waste interface (FW) layers and greater in the wood waste and waste-clay interface layers. Principal-coordinate analysis and lineage-specific analysis determined that the Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria phyla account for most of the significant differences observed between the layers. The decreased diversity in the FW layer and increased members of families containing known cellulose-degrading microorganisms suggest that the FW layer is an enrichment environment for these organisms. These results suggest that the presence of the cellulosic material significantly influences the bacterial community structure in a stratified soil system. PMID:20305022

  3. Evaluation of the viability of Lactobacillus spp. after the production of different solid dosage forms.

    PubMed

    Brachkova, Mariya I; Duarte, Aida; Pinto, João F

    2009-09-01

    The work aims to provide evidence on the viability of Lactobacillus spp. and a spore form of Bacillus subtilis from nonprocessed bacteria to coated dosage forms (i.e., mini-tablets, pellets, and their coated forms). Lactobacillus spp. were cultivated overnight in MRS broth (10(9) cfu/mL) and B. subtilis spores were produced on plate count agar (10(7) cfu/mL) for 2 weeks. Bacteria and spores were freeze-dried in skim milk enriched with glycerol. The cakes were further processed into tablets (2.5 mm diameter) by direct compression with or without microcrystalline cellulose and inulin. Pellets (1-1.4 mm diameter) were produced by extrusion-spheronization of bacterial and spore suspensions with microcrystalline cellulose, lactose, inulin, and skim milk. Both tablets and pellets were film coated. The properties of the dosage forms, particularly the bacterial viability, were evaluated immediately after production and throughout storage for 6 months at 4 degrees C. The study has shown that for an adequate stabilization of the bacteria a protective matrix (e.g., skim milk) and cryoprotectors (e.g., glycerol) must be present at early stages of bacterial de-hydration. Tabletting had a less deleterious effect (<2 log units) on bacteria when compared to pelletization (in some cases 3 log units). Enteric coating (15%, w/w) of either tablets or pellets did not affect the viability of the bacteria.

  4. Surface structure, crystallographic and ice-nucleating properties of cellulose

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hiranuma, Naruki; Möhler, Ottmar; Kiselev, Alexei; Saathoff, Harald; Weidler, Peter; Shutthanandan, Shuttha; Kulkarni, Gourihar; Jantsch, Evelyn; Koop, Thomas

    2015-04-01

    Increasing evidence of the high diversity and efficient freezing ability of biological ice-nucleating particles is driving a reevaluation of their impact upon climate. Despite their potential importance, little is known about their atmospheric abundance and ice nucleation efficiency, especially non-proteinaceous ones, in comparison to non-biological materials (e.g., mineral dust). Recently, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC; non-proteinaceous plant structural polymer) has been identified as a potential biological ice-nucleating particle. However, it is still uncertain if the ice-nucleating activity is specific to the MCC structure or generally relevant to all cellulose materials, such that the results of MCC can be representatively scaled up to the total cellulose content in the atmosphere to address its role in clouds and the climate system. Here we use the helium ion microscopy (HIM) imaging and the X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique to characterize the nanoscale surface structure and crystalline properties of the two different types of cellulose (MCC and fibrous cellulose extracted from natural wood pulp) as model proxies for atmospheric cellulose particles and to assess their potential accessibility for water molecules. To complement these structural characterizations, we also present the results of immersion freezing experiments using the cold stage-based droplet freezing BINARY (Bielefeld Ice Nucleation ARaY) technique. The HIM results suggest that both cellulose types have a complex porous morphology with capillary spaces between the nanoscale fibrils over the microfiber surface. These surface structures may make cellulose accessible to water. The XRD results suggest that the structural properties of both cellulose materials are in agreement (i.e., P21 space group; a=7.96 Å, b=8.35 Å, c=10.28 Å) and comparable to the crystallographic properties of general monoclinic cellulose (i.e., Cellulose Iβ). The results obtained from the BINARY measurements suggest

  5. Chitin and Cellulose Processing in Low-Temperature Electron Beam Plasma.

    PubMed

    Vasilieva, Tatiana; Chuhchin, Dmitry; Lopatin, Sergey; Varlamov, Valery; Sigarev, Andrey; Vasiliev, Michael

    2017-11-06

    Polysaccharide processing by means of low-temperature Electron Beam Plasma (EBP) is a promising alternative to the time-consuming and environmentally hazardous chemical hydrolysis in oligosaccharide production. The present paper considers mechanisms of the EBP-stimulated destruction of crab shell chitin, cellulose sulfate, and microcrystalline cellulose, as well as characterization of the produced oligosaccharides. The polysaccharide powders were treated in oxygen EBP for 1-20 min at 40 °C in a mixing reactor placed in the zone of the EBP generation. The chemical structure and molecular mass of the oligosaccharides were analyzed by size exclusion and the reversed phase chromatography, FTIR-spectroscopy, XRD-, and NMR-techniques. The EBP action on original polysaccharides reduces their crystallinity index and polymerization degree. Water-soluble products with lower molecular weight chitooligosaccharides (weight-average molecular mass, M w = 1000-2000 Da and polydispersity index 2.2) and cellulose oligosaccharides with polymerization degrees 3-10 were obtained. The ¹H-NMR analysis revealed 25-40% deacetylation of the EBP-treated chitin and FTIR-spectroscopy detected an increase of carbonyl- and carboxyl-groups in the oligosaccharides produced. Possible reactions of β-1,4-glycosidic bonds' destruction due to active oxygen species and high-energy electrons are given.

  6. The type of carbohydrates specifically selects microbial community structures and fermentation patterns.

    PubMed

    Chatellard, Lucile; Trably, Eric; Carrère, Hélène

    2016-12-01

    The impact on dark fermentation of seven carbohydrates as model substrates of lignocellulosic fractions (glucose, cellobiose, microcrystalline cellulose, arabinose, xylose, xylan and wheat straw) was investigated. Metabolic patterns and bacterial communities were characterized at the end of batch tests inoculated with manure digestate. It was found that hydrogen production was linked to the sugar type (pentose or hexose) and the degree of polymerisation. Hexoses produced less hydrogen, with a specific selection of lactate-producing bacterial community structures. Maximal hydrogen production was five times higher on pentose-based substrates, with specific bacterial community structures producing acetate and butyrate as main metabolites. Low hydrogen amounts accumulated from complex sugars (cellulose, xylan and wheat straw). A relatively high proportion of the reads was affiliated to Ruminococcaceae suggesting an efficient hydrolytic activity. Knowing that the bacterial community structure is very specific to a particular substrate offers new possibilities to design more efficient H 2 -producing biological systems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. A cellulosic responsive "living" membrane.

    PubMed

    Qin, Guokui; Panilaitis, Bruce J; Kaplan, Zhongyuan Sun David L

    2014-01-16

    Bacterial cellulose has been demonstrated to be a remarkably versatile biomaterial and widely used in biomedical applications due to its unique physical properties. Here we reported for the first time a "living membrane" system based on recombinant Escherichia coli bacterial strains entrapped in cellulosic membranes produced by Gluconacetobacter xylinus. Biologically driven detection and identification of a range of target molecules presents unique challenges, and requires that detection methods are developed to be rapid, specific and sensitive. The compatibility of G. xylinus and recombinant E. coli strains was first investigated for co-cultivation, and the relationship between the number of entrapped E. coli and the level of inducible signal achieved was further explored by fluorescent signal observation in confocal microscopy. Finally to amplify the response to inducers for maximum fluorescent signal, a positive-feedback genetic amplifier was designed within recombinant E. coli strain entrapped in the living cellulosic membrane system, allowing for the detection mechanism to be extremely sensitive and resulting in a significant fluorescent signal from a single receptor binding event. The living membrane system proposed here will create devices of greater complexity in function for applications in biological and chemical detection. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  8. Cellular interactions with bacterial cellulose: Polycaprolactone nanofibrous scaffolds produced by a portable electrohydrodynamic gun for point-of-need wound dressing.

    PubMed

    Aydogdu, Mehmet Onur; Altun, Esra; Crabbe-Mann, Maryam; Brako, Francis; Koc, Fatma; Ozen, Gunes; Kuruca, Serap Erdem; Edirisinghe, Ursula; Luo, C J; Gunduz, Oguzhan; Edirisinghe, Mohan

    2018-05-27

    Electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds are promising regenerative wound dressing options but have yet to be widely used in practice. The challenge is that nanofibre productions rely on bench-top apparatuses, and the delicate product integrity is hard to preserve before reaching the point of need. Timing is critically important to wound healing. The purpose of this investigation is to produce novel nanofibrous scaffolds using a portable, hand-held "gun", which enables production at the wound site in a time-dependent fashion, thereby preserving product integrity. We select bacterial cellulose, a natural hydrophilic biopolymer, and polycaprolactone, a synthetic hydrophobic polymer, to generate composite nanofibres that can tune the scaffold hydrophilicity, which strongly affects cell proliferation. Composite scaffolds made of 8 different ratios of bacterial cellulose and polycaprolactone were successfully electrospun. The morphological features and cell-scaffold interactions were analysed using scanning electron microscopy. The biocompatibility was studied using Saos-2 cell viability test. The scaffolds were found to show good biocompatibility and allow different proliferation rates that varied with the composition of the scaffolds. A nanofibrous dressing that can be accurately moulded and standardised via the portable technique is advantageous for wound healing in practicality and in its consistency through mass production. © 2018 Medicalhelplines.com Inc and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Characterization of purified bacterial cellulose focused on its use on paper restoration.

    PubMed

    Santos, Sara M; Carbajo, José M; Quintana, Ester; Ibarra, David; Gomez, Nuria; Ladero, Miguel; Eugenio, M Eugenia; Villar, Juan C

    2015-02-13

    Bacterial cellulose (BC) synthesized by Gluconacetobacter sucrofermentans CECT 7291 seems to be a good option for the restoration of degraded paper. In this work BC layers are cultivated and purified by two different methods: an alkaline treatment when the culture media contains ethanol and a thermal treatment if the media is free from ethanol. The main goal of these tests was the characterization of BC layers measured in terms of tear and burst indexes, optical properties, SEM, X-ray diffraction, FTIR, degree of polymerization, static and dynamic contact angles, and mercury intrusion porosimetry. The BC layers were also evaluated in the same terms after an aging treatment. Results showed that BC has got high crystallinity index, low internal porosity, good mechanical properties and high stability over time, especially when purified by the alkaline treatment. These features make BC an adequate candidate for degraded paper reinforcement. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Micromechanics and poroelasticity of hydrated cellulose networks.

    PubMed

    Lopez-Sanchez, P; Rincon, Mauricio; Wang, D; Brulhart, S; Stokes, J R; Gidley, M J

    2014-06-09

    The micromechanics of cellulose hydrogels have been investigated using a new rheological experimental approach, combined with simulation using a poroelastic constitutive model. A series of mechanical compression steps at different strain rates were performed as a function of cellulose hydrogel thickness, combined with small amplitude oscillatory shear after each step to monitor the viscoelasticity of the sample. During compression, bacterial cellulose hydrogels behaved as anisotropic materials with near zero Poisson's ratio. The micromechanics of the hydrogels altered with each compression as water was squeezed out of the structure, and microstructural changes were strain rate-dependent, with increased densification of the cellulose network and increased cellulose fiber aggregation observed for slower compressive strain rates. A transversely isotropic poroelastic model was used to explain the observed micromechanical behavior, showing that the mechanical properties of cellulose networks in aqueous environments are mainly controlled by the rate of water movement within the structure.

  11. Improved in situ saccharification of cellulose pretreated by dimethyl sulfoxide/ionic liquid using cellulase from a newly isolated Paenibacillus sp. LLZ1.

    PubMed

    Hu, Dongxue; Ju, Xin; Li, Liangzhi; Hu, Cuiying; Yan, Lishi; Wu, Tianyun; Fu, Jiaolong; Qin, Ming

    2016-02-01

    A cellulase producing strain was newly isolated from soil samples and identified as Paenibacillus sp. LLZ1. A novel aqueous-dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)/1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium diethyl phosphate ([Emin]DEP)-cellulase system was designed and optimized. In the pretreatment, DMSO was found to be a low-cost substitute of up to 70% ionic liquid to enhance the cellulose dissolution. In the enzymatic saccharification, the optimum pH and temperature of the Paenibacillus sp. LLZ1 cellulase were identified as 6.0 and 40°C, respectively. Under the optimized reaction condition, the conversion of microcrystalline cellulose and bagasse cellulose increased by 39.3% and 37.6%, compared with unpretreated cellulose. Compared to current methods of saccharification, this new approach has several advantages including lower operating temperature, milder pH, and less usage of ionic liquid, indicating a marked progress in environmental friendly hydrolysis of biomass-based materials. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Bacterial cellulose production from cotton-based waste textiles: enzymatic saccharification enhanced by ionic liquid pretreatment.

    PubMed

    Hong, Feng; Guo, Xiang; Zhang, Shuo; Han, Shi-fen; Yang, Guang; Jönsson, Leif J

    2012-01-01

    Cotton-based waste textiles were explored as alternative feedstock for production of bacterial cellulose (BC) by Gluconacetobacter xylinus. The cellulosic fabrics were treated with the ionic liquid (IL) 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([AMIM]Cl). [AMIM]Cl caused 25% inactivation of cellulase activity at a concentration as low as of 0.02 g/mL and decreased BC production during fermentation when present in concentrations higher than 0.0005 g/mL. Therefore, removal of residual IL by washing with hot water was highly beneficial to enzymatic saccharification as well as BC production. IL-treated fabrics exhibited a 5-7-fold higher enzymatic hydrolysis rate and gave a seven times larger yield of fermentable sugars than untreated fabrics. BC from cotton cloth hydrolysate was obtained at an yield of 10.8 g/L which was 83% higher than that from the culture grown on glucose-based medium. The BC from G. xylinus grown on IL-treated fabric hydrolysate had a 79% higher tensile strength than BC from glucose-based culture medium which suggests that waste cotton pretreated with [AMIM]Cl has potential to serve as a high-quality carbon source for BC production. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Occurrence of Cellulose-Producing Gluconacetobacter spp. in Fruit Samples and Kombucha Tea, and Production of the Biopolymer.

    PubMed

    Neera; Ramana, Karna Venkata; Batra, Harsh Vardhan

    2015-06-01

    Cellulose producing bacteria were isolated from fruit samples and kombucha tea (a fermented beverage) using CuSO4 solution in modified Watanabe and Yamanaka medium to inhibit yeasts and molds. Six bacterial strains showing cellulose production were isolated and identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing as Gluconacetobacter xylinus strain DFBT, Ga. xylinus strain dfr-1, Gluconobacter oxydans strain dfr-2, G. oxydans strain dfr-3, Acetobacter orientalis strain dfr-4, and Gluconacetobacter intermedius strain dfr-5. All the cellulose-producing bacteria were checked for the cellulose yield. A potent cellulose-producing bacterium, i.e., Ga. xylinus strain DFBT based on yield (cellulose yield 5.6 g/L) was selected for further studies. Cellulose was also produced in non- conventional media such as pineapple juice medium and hydrolysed corn starch medium. A very high yield of 9.1 g/L cellulose was obtained in pineapple juice medium. Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR) analysis of the bacterial cellulose showed the characteristic peaks. Soft cellulose with a very high water holding capacity was produced using limited aeration. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to analyze the surface characteristics of normal bacterial cellulose and soft cellulose. The structural analysis of the polymer was performed using (13)C solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). More interfibrillar space was observed in the case of soft cellulose as compared to normal cellulose. This soft cellulose can find potential applications in the food industry as it can be swallowed easily without chewing.

  14. Characterization of a Cellulomonas fimi exoglucanase/xylanase-endoglucanase gene fusion which improves microbial degradation of cellulosic biomass.

    PubMed

    Duedu, Kwabena O; French, Christopher E

    2016-11-01

    Effective degradation of cellulose requires multiple classes of enzyme working together. However, naturally occurring cellulases with multiple catalytic domains seem to be rather rare in known cellulose-degrading organisms. A fusion protein made from Cellulomonas fimi exo- and endo- glucanases, Cex and CenA which improves breakdown of cellulose is described. A homologous carbohydrate binding module (CBM-2) present in both glucanases was fused to give a fusion protein CxnA. CxnA or unfused constructs (Cex+CenA, Cex, or CenA) were expressed in Escherichia coli and Citrobacter freundii. The latter recombinant strains were cultured at the expense of cellulose filter paper. The expressed CxnA had both exo- and endo- glucanase activities. It was also exported to the supernatant as were the non-fused proteins. In addition, the hybrid CBM from the fusion could bind to microcrystalline cellulose. Growth of C. freundii expressing CxnA was superior to that of cells expressing the unfused proteins. Physical degradation of filter paper was also faster with the cells expressing fusion protein than the other constructs. Our results show that fusion proteins with multiple catalytic domains can improve the efficiency of cellulose degradation. Such fusion proteins could potentially substitute cloning of multiple enzymes as well as improving product yields. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. 78 FR 52100 - National Organic Program; Proposed Amendments to the National List of Allowed and Prohibited...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-08-22

    ... least 90% biodegradation absolute or relative to microcrystalline cellulose in less than two years, in... standards for compostability, biodegradation, and biobased content be included at subparagraph (b)(2)(iii...% biodegradation absolute or relative to microcrystalline cellulose in less than two years, in soil, according to...

  16. Cellulose-Organic Montmorillonite Nanocomposites as Biomacromolecular Quorum-Sensing Inhibitor.

    PubMed

    Demircan, Deniz; Ilk, Sedef; Zhang, Baozhong

    2017-10-09

    The aim of this study was to develop simple cellulose nanocomposites that can interfere with the quorum-sensing (QS)-regulated physiological process of bacteria, which will provide a sustainable and inexpensive solution to the serious challenges caused by bacterial infections in various products like food packaging or biomedical materials. Three cellulose nanocomposites with 1-5 w% octadecylamine-modified montmorillonite (ODA-MMT) were prepared by regeneration of cellulose from ionic liquid solutions in the presence of ODA-MMT suspension. Structural characterization of the nanocomposites showed that the ODA-MMT can be exfoliated or intercalated, depending on the load level of the nanofiller. Thermal gravimetric analysis showed that the incorporation of ODA-MMT nanofiller can improve the thermal stability of the nanocomposites compared with regenerated cellulose. Evaluation of the anti-QS effect against a pigment-producing bacteria C. violaceum CV026 by disc diffusion assay and flask incubation assay revealed that the QS-regulated violacein pigment production was significantly inhibited by the cellulose nanocomposites without interfering the bacterial vitality. Interestingly, the nanocomposite with the lowest load of ODA-MMT exhibited the most significant anti-QS effect, which may be correlated to the exfoliation of nanofillers. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the anti-QS effect of cellulose nanocomposites without the addition of any small molecular agents. Such inexpensive and nontoxic biomaterials will thus have great potential in the development of new cellulosic materials that can effectively prevent the formation of harmful biofilms.

  17. Binary PVA bio-nanocomposites containing cellulose nanocrystals extracted from different natural sources: part I.

    PubMed

    Fortunati, E; Puglia, D; Luzi, F; Santulli, C; Kenny, J M; Torre, L

    2013-09-12

    PVA bio-nanocomposites reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) extracted from commercial microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and from two types of natural fibres, Phormium tenax and Flax of the Belinka variety, were produced by solvent casting in water. Morphological, thermal, mechanical and transparency properties were studied while the respective efficiency of the extraction process of CNC from the three sources was evaluated. The effect of CNC types and content on PVA properties and water absorption capacity were also evaluated. Natural fibres offered higher levels of extraction efficiency when compared with MCC hydrolysis yield. Thermal analysis proved that CNC promotes the crystallization of the PVA matrix, while improving its plastic response. It was also clarified that all PVA/CNC systems remain transparent due to CNC dispersion at the nanoscale, while being all saturated after the first 18-24h of water absorption. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Two-colour fluorescence fluorimetric analysis for direct quantification of bacteria and its application in monitoring bacterial growth in cellulose degradation systems.

    PubMed

    Duedu, Kwabena O; French, Christopher E

    2017-04-01

    Monitoring bacterial growth is an important technique required for many applications such as testing bacteria against compounds (e.g. drugs), evaluating bacterial composition in the environment (e.g. sewage and wastewater or food suspensions) and testing engineered bacteria for various functions (e.g. cellulose degradation). T?=1,^FigItem(1) ^ReloadFigure=Yesraditionally, rapid estimation of bacterial growth is performed using spectrophotometric measurement at 600nm (OD600) but this estimation does not differentiate live and dead cells or other debris. Colony counting enumerates live cells but the process is laborious and not suitable for large numbers of samples. Enumeration of live bacteria by flow cytometry is a more suitable rapid method with the use of dual staining with SYBR I Green nucleic acid gel stain and Propidium Iodide (SYBR-I/PI). Flow cytometry equipment and maintenance costs however are relatively high and this technique is unavailable in many laboratories that may require a rapid method for evaluating bacteria growth. We therefore sought to adapt and evaluate the SYBR-I/PI technique of enumerating live bacterial cells for a cheaper platform, a fluorimeter. The fluorimetry adapted SYBR-I/PI enumeration of bacteria in turbid growth media had direct correlations with OD600 (p>0.001). To enable comparison of fluorescence results across labs and instruments, a fluorescence intensity standard unit, the equivalent fluorescent DNA (EFD) was proposed, evaluated and found useful. The technique was further evaluated for its usefulness in enumerating bacteria in turbid media containing insoluble particles. Reproducible results were obtained which OD600 could not give. An alternative method based on the assessment of total protein using the Pierce Coomassie Plus (Bradford) Assay was also evaluated and compared. In all, the SYBR-I/PI method was found to be the quickest and most reliable. The protocol is potentially useful for high-throughput applications such as

  19. Rational design of a high-strength bone scaffold platform based on in situ hybridization of bacterial cellulose/nano-hydroxyapatite framework and silk fibroin reinforcing phase.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Pei; Ran, Jiabing; Yan, Pan; Zheng, Lingyue; Shen, Xinyu; Tong, Hua

    2018-02-01

    Bacterial cellulose/hydroxyapatite (BC/HAp) composite had favourable bioaffinity but its poor mechanical strength limited its widespread applications in bone tissue engineering (BTE). Silk fibroin, which possesses special crystalline structure, has been widely used as organic reinforcing material, and different SFs have different amino acid sequences, which exhibit different bioaffinity and mechanical properties. In this regard, bacterial cellulose-Antheraea yamamai silk fibroin/hydroxyapatite (BC-AYSF/HAp), bacterial cellulose-Bombyx mori silk fibroin/hydroxyapatite (BC-BMSF/HAp), and BC/HAp nano-composites were synthesized via a novel in situ hybridization method. Compared with BC/HAp and BC-BMSF/HAp, the BC-AYSF/HAp exhibited better interpenetration, which may benefit for the transportation of nutrients and wastes, the adhesion of cells as well. Additionally, the BC-AYSF/HAp also presented superior thermal stability than the other two composites revealed by differential thermal analysis (DTA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Compression testing indicated that the mechanical strength of BC-BMSF/HAp was greatly reinforced compared with BC/HAp and was even a little higher than that of BC-AYSF/HAp. Tensile testing showed that BC-AYSF/HAp possesses extraordinary mechanical properties with a higher elastic modulus at low strain and higher fracture strength simultaneously than the other two composites. In vitro cell culture exhibited that MC3T3-E1 cells on the BC-AYSF/HAp membrane took on higher proliferative potential than those on the BC-BMSF/HAp membrane. These results suggested that compared with BC-BMSF/HAp, the BC-AYSF/HAp composite was more appropriate as an ideal bone scaffold platform or biomedical membrane to be used in BTE.

  20. Crystallographic snapshot of cellulose synthesis and membrane translocation.

    PubMed

    Morgan, Jacob L W; Strumillo, Joanna; Zimmer, Jochen

    2013-01-10

    Cellulose, the most abundant biological macromolecule, is an extracellular, linear polymer of glucose molecules. It represents an essential component of plant cell walls but is also found in algae and bacteria. In bacteria, cellulose production frequently correlates with the formation of biofilms, a sessile, multicellular growth form. Cellulose synthesis and transport across the inner bacterial membrane is mediated by a complex of the membrane-integrated catalytic BcsA subunit and the membrane-anchored, periplasmic BcsB protein. Here we present the crystal structure of a complex of BcsA and BcsB from Rhodobacter sphaeroides containing a translocating polysaccharide. The structure of the BcsA-BcsB translocation intermediate reveals the architecture of the cellulose synthase, demonstrates how BcsA forms a cellulose-conducting channel, and suggests a model for the coupling of cellulose synthesis and translocation in which the nascent polysaccharide is extended by one glucose molecule at a time.

  1. Esophageal replacement by hydroxylated bacterial cellulose patch in a rabbit model.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Changlai; Liu, Fang; Qian, Wenbo; Wang, Yingjie; You, Qingsheng; Zhang, Tianyi; Li, Feng

    2015-01-01

    To repair esophageal defects by hydroxylated and kombucha-synthesized bacterial cellulose (HKBC) patch in a rabbit model. Semicircular esophageal defects 1 cm in length of the cervical esophagus were initially created in 18 Japanese big-ear rabbits and then repaired with HKBC patch grafts. The clinical outcomes including survival rate, weight change, food intake, and hematological and radiologic evaluation were observed. After X-ray evaluation, the rabbits were sacrificed sequentially at 1, 3, and 6 months for histopathologic analysis with light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Survival rate during the first month was 88.9% (n = 16). Two rabbits died from anastomotic leakage during the entire follow-up. Postoperatively, feeding function and body weight were gradually restored in the surviving animals. No hematological abnormalities were found, and no obvious anastomotic leakage, stenosis, or obstruction was observed under X-ray examination. The histopathologic results showed a progressive regeneration of the esophagus in the graft area, where the neo-esophagus tissue had characteristics similar to native esophageal tissue after 3 months of surgery. HKBC is beneficial for esophageal tissue regeneration and may be a promising material for esophageal reconstruction.

  2. Biotemplated preparation of CdS nanoparticles/bacterial cellulose hybrid nanofibers for photocatalysis application.

    PubMed

    Yang, Jiazhi; Yu, Junwei; Fan, Jun; Sun, Dongping; Tang, Weihua; Yang, Xuejie

    2011-05-15

    In this work, we describe a novel facile and effective strategy to prepare micrometer-long hybrid nanofibers by deposition of CdS nanoparticles onto the substrate of hydrated bacterial cellulose nanofibers (BCF). Hexagonal phase CdS nanocrystals were achieved via a simple hydrothermal reaction between CdCl(2) and thiourea at relatively low temperature. The prepared pristine BCF and the CdS/BCF hybrid nanofibers were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), UV-vis absorption spectroscopy (UV-vis), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results reveal that the CdS nanoparticles were homogeneously deposited on the BCF surface and stabilized via coordination effect. The CdS/BCF hybrid nanofibers demonstrated high-efficiency photocatalysis with 82% methyl orange (MO) degradation after 90 min irradiation and good recyclability. The results indicate that the CdS/BCF hybrid nanofibers are promising candidate as robust visible light responsive photocatalysts. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Carbon ions irradiation on nano- and microcrystalline CaSO4 : Dy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Salah, Numan

    2008-08-01

    Nanoparticles of CaSO4 : Dy phosphor with a particle size of around 30 nm have been prepared by the chemical co-precipitation technique. Pellet samples of the nanomaterials were irradiated by a 75 MeV C6+ ion beam at the fluence range 1 × 109-1 × 1013 ions cm-2. Thermoluminescence (TL) glow curves of the irradiated samples were recorded and studied. The microcrystalline form of this sample is also included in the study with the aim of reporting a comparative measurement. The TL analysis shows that the glow curve of the nanomaterial has two peaks at around 166 and 210 °C. These peaks are similar to those induced in the microcrystalline sample with a slight difference in their TL response. The second peak is more prominent in the case of the microcrystalline sample at low fluences, while the first one dominates in the nanostructured sample mainly at higher fluences. The TRIM code based on Monte Carlo simulation was also used for calculating some ion beam parameters. Dosimetric properties of the carbon ion beam irradiated materials show that the nanostructure material has excellent features such as a simple glow curve structure and a linear TL response over a wider range than the corresponding microcrystalline sample. These results show that the nanostructure form of CaSO4 : Dy might be useful for detecting the high doses of carbon ions used in radiotherapy. Thermal analysis of the prepared nano- and microcrystalline materials was also done in the range 50-500 °C using thermogravimetry analysis and differential thermal analysis. No phase transitions within this range of heating for both the materials are observed.

  4. Genotoxic and immunotoxic effects of cellulose nanocrystals in vitro.

    PubMed

    Catalán, Julia; Ilves, Marit; Järventaus, Hilkka; Hannukainen, Kati-Susanna; Kontturi, Eero; Vanhala, Esa; Alenius, Harri; Savolainen, Kai M; Norppa, Hannu

    2015-03-01

    Nanocellulosics are among the most promising innovations for a wide-variety of applications in materials science. Although nanocellulose is presently produced only on a small scale, its possible toxic effects should be investigated at this early stage. The aim of the present study was to examine the potential genotoxicity and immunotoxicity of two celluloses in vitro - cellulose nanocrystals (CNC; mean fibril length 135 nm, mean width 7.3 nm) and a commercially available microcrystalline (non-nanoscale) cellulose (MCC; particle size ∼50 µm). Both celluloses showed 55% cytotoxicity at approximately 100 µg/ml after 4-h, 24-h, and 48-h treatment of human bronchial epithelial BEAS 2B cells, as determined by luminometric detection of ATP and cell count (dead cells identified by propidium iodide). Neither of the materials was able to induce micronuclei (MN) in binucleate or mononucleate BEAS 2B cells after a 48-h treatment (2.5-100 µg/ml). In human monocyte-derived macrophages, MCC induced a release (measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; ELISA) of the pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and (after lipopolysaccharide-priming) interleukin 1β (IL-1β) after a 6-h exposure to a dose of 300 µg/ml, but CNC (30-300 µg/ml) did not. In conclusion, our results show that nanosized CNC is neither genotoxic nor immunotoxic under the conditions tested, whereas non-nanosized MCC is able to induce an inflammatory response. More studies are needed, especially in vivo, to further assess if CNC and other nanocelluloses induce secondary genotoxic effects mediated by inflammation. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Re-constructing our models of cellulose and primary cell wall assembly

    PubMed Central

    Cosgrove, Daniel J.

    2014-01-01

    The cellulose microfibril has more subtlety than is commonly recognized. Details of its structure may influence how matrix polysaccharides interact with its distinctive hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces to form a strong yet extensible structure. Recent advances in this field include the first structures of bacterial and plant cellulose synthases and revised estimates of microfibril structure, reduced from 36 to 18 chains. New results also indicate that cellulose interactions with xyloglucan are more limited than commonly believed, whereas pectin-cellulose interactions are more prevalent. Computational results indicate that xyloglucan binds tightest to the hydrophobic surface of cellulose microfibrils. Wall extensibility may be controlled at limited regions (“biomechanical hotspots”) where cellulose-cellulose contacts are made, potentially mediated by trace amounts of xyloglucan. PMID:25460077

  6. Enhanced production of bacterial cellulose by using a biofilm reactor and its material property analysis

    PubMed Central

    Cheng, Kuan-Chen; Catchmark, Jeff M; Demirci, Ali

    2009-01-01

    Bacterial cellulose has been used in the food industry for applications such as low-calorie desserts, salads, and fabricated foods. It has also been used in the paper manufacturing industry to enhance paper strength, the electronics industry in acoustic diaphragms for audio speakers, the pharmaceutical industry as filtration membranes, and in the medical field as wound dressing and artificial skin material. In this study, different types of plastic composite support (PCS) were implemented separately within a fermentation medium in order to enhance bacterial cellulose (BC) production by Acetobacter xylinum. The optimal composition of nutritious compounds in PCS was chosen based on the amount of BC produced. The selected PCS was implemented within a bioreactor to examine the effects on BC production in a batch fermentation. The produced BC was analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Among thirteen types of PCS, the type SFYR+ was selected as solid support for BC production by A. xylinum in a batch biofilm reactor due to its high nitrogen content, moderate nitrogen leaching rate, and sufficient biomass attached on PCS. The PCS biofilm reactor yielded BC production (7.05 g/L) that was 2.5-fold greater than the control (2.82 g/L). The XRD results indicated that the PCS-grown BC exhibited higher crystallinity (93%) and similar crystal size (5.2 nm) to the control. FESEM results showed the attachment of A. xylinum on PCS, producing an interweaving BC product. TGA results demonstrated that PCS-grown BC had about 95% water retention ability, which was lower than BC produced within suspended-cell reactor. PCS-grown BC also exhibited higher Tmax compared to the control. Finally, DMA results showed that BC from the PCS biofilm reactor increased its mechanical property values, i.e., stress at break and Young's modulus when compared to the control BC. The

  7. Cellulose Biorefinery Based on a Combined Catalytic and Biotechnological Approach for Production of 5-HMF and Ethanol.

    PubMed

    Sorokina, Ksenia N; Taran, Oxana P; Medvedeva, Tatiana B; Samoylova, Yuliya V; Piligaev, Alexandr V; Parmon, Valentin N

    2017-02-08

    In this study, a combination of catalytic and biotechnological processes was proposed for the first time for application in a cellulose biorefinery for the production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) and bioethanol. Hydrolytic dehydration of the mechanically activated microcrystalline cellulose over a carbon-based mesoporous Sibunt-4 catalyst resulted in moderate yields of glucose and 5-HMF (21.1-25.1 and 6.6-9.4 %). 5-HMF was extracted from the resulting mixture with isobutanol and subjected to ethanol fermentation. A number of yeast strains were isolated that also revealed high thermotolerance (up to 50 °C) and resistance to inhibitors found in the hydrolysates. The strains Kluyveromyces marxianus C1 and Ogataea polymorpha CBS4732 were capable of producing ethanol from processed catalytic hydrolysates of cellulose at 42 °C, with yields of 72.0±5.7 and 75.2±4.3 % from the maximum theoretical yield of ethanol, respectively. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  8. Synergy of Diflubenzuron Baiting and NHA Dusting on Mortality of Reticulitermes flavipes

    Treesearch

    F. III Green; R.A. Arango; G.R. Esenther; M.G. Rojas; J. Morales-Ramos

    2013-01-01

    The ability of N’N-naphthaloylhydroxylamine (NHA) to cause mortality in Reticulitermes flavipes workers pretreated with the chitin synthesis inhibitor diflubenzuron was tested by adding two NHA dusted workers to 100 (2:100) pretreated workers fed either pure microcrystalline alpha-cellulose or diflubenzuron (0.25%) treated microcrystalline cellulose...

  9. Salmonella biofilm formation on Aspergillus niger involves cellulose--chitin interactions.

    PubMed

    Brandl, Maria T; Carter, Michelle Q; Parker, Craig T; Chapman, Matthew R; Huynh, Steven; Zhou, Yaguang

    2011-01-01

    Salmonella cycles between host and nonhost environments, where it can become an active member of complex microbial communities. The role of fungi in the environmental adaptation of enteric pathogens remains relatively unexplored. We have discovered that S. enterica Typhimurium rapidly attaches to and forms biofilms on the hyphae of the common fungus, Aspergillus niger. Several Salmonella enterica serovars displayed a similar interaction, whereas other bacterial species were unable to bind to the fungus. Bacterial attachment to chitin, a major constituent of fungal cell walls, mirrored this specificity. Pre-incubation of S. Typhimurium with N-acetylglucosamine, the monomeric component of chitin, reduced binding to chitin beads by as much as 727-fold and inhibited attachment to A. niger hyphae considerably. A cellulose-deficient mutant of S. Typhimurium failed to attach to chitin beads and to the fungus. Complementation of this mutant with the cellulose operon restored binding to chitin beads to 79% of that of the parental strain and allowed for attachment and biofilm formation on A. niger, indicating that cellulose is involved in bacterial attachment to the fungus via the chitin component of its cell wall. In contrast to cellulose, S. Typhimurium curli fimbriae were not required for attachment and biofilm development on the hyphae but were critical for its stability. Our results suggest that cellulose-chitin interactions are required for the production of mixed Salmonella-A. niger biofilms, and support the hypothesis that encounters with chitinaceous alternate hosts may contribute to the ecological success of human pathogens.

  10. Chromophores in cellulosics, XI: isolation and identification of residual chromophores from bacterial cellulose

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Cotton or linen fabrics and paper, as well as other items composed chiefly of cellulose, tend to change to a yellow or brown color as they age. The change in color is usually accompanied by increased brittleness and loss of strength, as well. A cause of these phenomena is thought to be the formation...

  11. Observing cellulose biosynthesis and membrane translocation in crystallo

    PubMed Central

    Morgan, Jacob L.W.; McNamara, Joshua T.; Fischer, Michael; Rich, Jamie; Chen, Hong-Ming; Withers, Stephen G.; Zimmer, Jochen

    2016-01-01

    Many biopolymers, including polysaccharides, must be translocated across at least one membrane to reach their site of biological function. Cellulose is a linear glucose polymer synthesized and secreted by a membrane-integrated cellulose synthase. In crystallo enzymology with the catalytically-active bacterial cellulose synthase BcsA-B complex reveals structural snapshots of a complete cellulose biosynthesis cycle, from substrate binding to polymer translocation. Substrate and product-bound structures of BcsA provide the basis for substrate recognition and demonstrate the stepwise elongation of cellulose. Furthermore, the structural snapshots show that BcsA translocates cellulose via a ratcheting mechanism involving a “finger helix” that contacts the polymer's terminal glucose. Cooperating with BcsA's gating loop, the finger helix moves ‘up’ and ‘down’ in response to substrate binding and polymer elongation, respectively, thereby pushing the elongated polymer into BcsA’s transmembrane channel. This mechanism is validated experimentally by tethering BcsA's finger helix, which inhibits polymer translocation but not elongation. PMID:26958837

  12. Catalytic hydrolysis of cellulose into furans

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shi, Chengmei; Tao, Furong; Cui, Yuezhi

    2016-12-01

    Chromium chloride in 4-(3-methylimidazolium-1-yl)butane-1-sulfonic acid hydrogen sulfate (IL-1) was found to effectively catalyze the hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) at 150°C for 300 min to achieve 87.8% conversion to a slate of products. With a catalytic amount of CrCl3, the yields of 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) and furfural were up to 32.4 and 15.2%, respectively, small molecules levulinic acid (LA, 10.8%) and the total reducing sugars (TRS, 10.7%) were also generated. Through LC-MSD analysis and mass spectra, dimer of furan compounds as the main by-products were speculated, and the components of gas products were methane, ethane, CO, CO2, and H2. We suggested that IL-1 and CrCl3 exhibited a coordination interaction; the formation of the intermediate via the hydride shift played a key role in the formation of HMF. The catalyst was recycled and exhibited constant activity for five successive trials.

  13. Dietary fructans, but not cellulose, decrease triglyceride accumulation in the liver of obese Zucker fa/fa rats.

    PubMed

    Daubioul, Catherine; Rousseau, Nicolas; Demeure, Roger; Gallez, Bernard; Taper, Henryk; Declerck, Barbara; Delzenne, Nathalie

    2002-05-01

    This study was designed to compare the effects of dietary supplementation with nondigestible carbohydrates, differing in fermentability by colonic bacteria, on hepatic steatosis in growing obese Zucker rats. Male Zucker fa/fa rats were divided into three groups: a control group that received the basal diet, a fructan group that received 10 g highly fermented Synergy 1/100 g diet and a cellulose group that received 10 g poorly fermented Vivapur Microcrystalline cellulose/100 g diet. Rats consuming fructan had a lower energy intake, a lower body weight and less triacylglycerol accumulation in the liver as assessed in vivo by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and ex vivo by biochemical and histochemical analysis compared with the control and/or cellulose groups. The high fermentation of fructans compared with cellulose was reflected by greater cecal contents and by a twofold greater propionate concentration in the portal vein of rats fed fructan compared with those fed cellulose. By measuring the capacity of hepatocytes isolated from liver of Zucker rats to synthesize triglycerides or total lipids from different precursors, we showed that propionate, at the concentrations measured in the portal vein of rats treated with fructan, selectively decreased the incorporation of acetate into total lipids, a phenomenon that could contribute, along with the lower energy intake, to less triglyceride accumulation in the liver of obese Zucker rats fed dietary fructans.

  14. Cellulose nanomaterials as green nanoreinforcements for polymer nanocomposites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dufresne, Alain

    2017-12-01

    Unexpected and attractive properties can be observed when decreasing the size of a material down to the nanoscale. Cellulose is no exception to the rule. In addition, the highly reactive surface of cellulose resulting from the high density of hydroxyl groups is exacerbated at this scale. Different forms of cellulose nanomaterials, resulting from a top-down deconstruction strategy (cellulose nanocrystals, cellulose nanofibrils) or bottom-up strategy (bacterial cellulose), are potentially useful for a large number of industrial applications. These include the paper and cardboard industry, use as reinforcing filler in polymer nanocomposites, the basis for low-density foams, additives in adhesives and paints, as well as a wide variety of filtration, electronic, food, hygiene, cosmetic and medical products. This paper focuses on the use of cellulose nanomaterials as a filler for the preparation of polymer nanocomposites. Impressive mechanical properties can be obtained for these materials. They obviously depend on the type of nanomaterial used, but the crucial point is the processing technique. The emphasis is on the melt processing of such nanocomposite materials, which has not yet been properly resolved and remains a challenge. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue `New horizons for cellulose nanotechnology'.

  15. Re-constructing our models of cellulose and primary cell wall assembly

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cosgrove, Daniel J.

    2014-11-16

    The cellulose microfibril has more subtlety than is commonly recognized. Details of its structure may influence how matrix polysaccharides interact with its distinctive hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces to form a strong yet extensible structure. We report that recent advances in this field include the first structures of bacterial and plant cellulose synthases and revised estimates of microfibril structure, reduced from 36 to 18 chains. New results also indicate that cellulose interactions with xyloglucan are more limited than commonly believed, whereas pectin-cellulose interactions are more prevalent. Computational results indicate that xyloglucan binds tightest to the hydrophobic surface of cellulose microfibrils. Finally,more » wall extensibility may be controlled at limited regions (“biomechanical hotspots”) where cellulose-cellulose contacts are made, potentially mediated by trace amounts of xyloglucan.« less

  16. Preparation and physical properties of tara gum film reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals.

    PubMed

    Ma, Qianyun; Hu, Dongying; Wang, Lijuan

    2016-05-01

    Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) prepared from microcrystalline cellulose were blended in tara gum solution to prepare nanocomposite films. The morphology, crystallinity, and thermal properties of the CNC and films were evaluated by using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry, and thermogravimetric analysis, respectively. The resultant CNC was rod-shaped with diameters of around 8.6 nm. The effect of CNC content on physical and thermal properties of films was studied. The composite film tensile strength increased from 27.86 to 65.73 MPa, elastic modulus increased from 160.98 MPa to 882.49 MPa and the contact angle increased from 55.8° to 98.7° with increasing CNC content from 0 to 6 wt%. However, CNC addition increased the thermal stability slightly and CNC content above 6 wt% decreased the tensile strength by CNC aggregation in the matrix. The nanocomposite film containing 6 wt% CNC possessed the highest light transmittance, mechanical properties, and lowest oxygen permeability. CNC addition is a suitable method to modify tara gum matrix polymer properties. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Ruminococcus champanellensis sp. nov., a cellulose-degrading bacterium from human gut microbiota.

    PubMed

    Chassard, Christophe; Delmas, Eve; Robert, Céline; Lawson, Paul A; Bernalier-Donadille, Annick

    2012-01-01

    A strictly anaerobic, cellulolytic strain, designated 18P13(T), was isolated from a human faecal sample. Cells were Gram-positive non-motile cocci. Strain 18P13(T) was able to degrade microcrystalline cellulose but the utilization of soluble sugars was restricted to cellobiose. Acetate and succinate were the major end products of cellulose and cellobiose fermentation. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that the isolate belonged to the genus Ruminococcus of the family Ruminococcaceae. The closest phylogenetic relative was the ruminal cellulolytic strain Ruminococcus flavefaciens ATCC 19208(T) (<95% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). The DNA G+C content of strain 18P13(T) was 53.05±0.7 mol%. On the basis of phylogenetic analysis, and morphological and physiological data, strain 18P13(T) can be differentiated from other members of the genus Ruminococcus with validly published names. The name Ruminococcus champanellensis sp. nov. is proposed, with 18P13(T) (=DSM 18848(T)=JCM 17042(T)) as the type strain.

  18. A monolithic functional film of nanotubes/cellulose/ionic liquid for high performance supercapacitors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Basiricò, Lucia; Lanzara, Giulia

    2014-12-01

    A novel monolithic, pre-fabricated, fully functional film made of a nanostructured free-standing layer is presented for a new and competitive class of easy-to-assemble flexible supercapacitors whose design is in-between the all solid state and the traditional liquid electrolyte. The film is made of two vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube (VANT) electrodes that store ions, embedded-in, and monolithically interspaced by a solution of microcrystalline cellulose in a room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) electrolyte (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate-EMIM Ac). The fine tuning of VANTs length and electrolyte/cellulose amount leads, in a sole and continuous block, to ions storage and physical separation between the electrodes without the need of the additional separator layer that is typically used in supercapacitors. Thus, physical discontinuities that can induce disturbances to ions mobility, are fully eliminated significantly reducing the equivalent series resistance and increasing the knee frequency, hence outclassing the best supercapacitors based on VANTs and non-aqueous electrolytes. The excellent electrochemical response can also be addressed to the chosen electrolyte that, not only has the advantage of leading to a significantly simpler and more affordable fabrication procedure, but has higher ionic conductivity, lower viscosity and higher ions mobility than other electrolytes capable of dissolving cellulose.

  19. Re-constructing our models of cellulose and primary cell wall assembly.

    PubMed

    Cosgrove, Daniel J

    2014-12-01

    The cellulose microfibril has more subtlety than is commonly recognized. Details of its structure may influence how matrix polysaccharides interact with its distinctive hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces to form a strong yet extensible structure. Recent advances in this field include the first structures of bacterial and plant cellulose synthases and revised estimates of microfibril structure, reduced from 36 to 18 chains. New results also indicate that cellulose interactions with xyloglucan are more limited than commonly believed, whereas pectin–cellulose interactions are more prevalent. Computational results indicate that xyloglucan binds tightest to the hydrophobic surface of cellulose microfibrils. Wall extensibility may be controlled at limited regions (‘biomechanical hotspots’) where cellulose–cellulose contacts are made, potentially mediated by trace amounts of xyloglucan.

  20. Functional reconstitution of cellulose synthase in Escherichia coli.

    PubMed

    Imai, Tomoya; Sun, Shi-Jing; Horikawa, Yoshiki; Wada, Masahisa; Sugiyama, Junji

    2014-11-10

    Cellulose is a high molecular weight polysaccharide of β1 → 4-d-glucan widely distributed in nature-from plant cell walls to extracellular polysaccharide in bacteria. Cellulose synthase, together with other auxiliary subunit(s) in the cell membrane, facilitates the fibrillar assembly of cellulose polymer chains into a microfibril. The gene encoding the catalytic subunit of cellulose synthase is cesA and has been identified in many cellulose-producing organisms. Very few studies, however, have shown that recombinant CesA protein synthesizes cellulose polymer, but the mechanism by which CesA protein synthesizes cellulose microfibrils is not known. Here we show that cellulose-synthesizing activity is successfully reconstituted in Escherichia coli by expressing the bacterial cellulose synthase complex of Gluconacetobacter xylinus: CesA and CesB (formerly BcsA and BcsB, respectively). Cellulose synthase activity was, however, only detected when CesA and CesB were coexpressed with diguanyl cyclase (DGC), which synthesizes cyclic-di-GMP (c-di-GMP), which in turn activates cellulose-synthesizing activity in bacteria. Direct observation by electron microscopy revealed extremely thin fibrillar structures outside E. coli cells, which were removed by cellulase treatment. This fiber structure is not likely to be the native crystallographic form of cellulose I, given that it was converted to cellulose II by a chemical treatment milder than ever described. We thus putatively conclude that this fine fiber is an unprecedented structure of cellulose. Despite the inability of the recombinant enzyme to synthesize the native structure of cellulose, the system described in this study, named "CESEC (CEllulose-Synthesizing E. Coli)", represents a useful tool for functional analyses of cellulose synthase and for seeding new nanomaterials.

  1. Preparation and Characterization of Polyvinyl Alcohol-Chitosan Composite Films Reinforced with Cellulose Nanofiber

    PubMed Central

    Choo, Kaiwen; Ching, Yern Chee; Chuah, Cheng Hock; Julai, Sabariah; Liou, Nai-Shang

    2016-01-01

    In this study microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was oxidized by 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical (TEMPO)-mediated oxidation. The treated cellulose slurry was mechanically homogenized to form a transparent dispersion which consisted of individual cellulose nanofibers with uniform widths of 3–4 nm. Bio-nanocomposite films were then prepared from a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-chitosan (CS) polymeric blend with different TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofiber (TOCN) contents (0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 wt %) via the solution casting method. The characterizations of pure PVA/CS and PVA/CS/TOCN films were performed in terms of field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), tensile tests, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results from FESEM analysis justified that low loading levels of TOCNs were dispersed uniformly and homogeneously in the PVA-CS blend matrix. The tensile strength and thermal stability of the films were increased with the increased loading levels of TOCNs to a maximum level. The thermal study indicated a slight improvement of the thermal stability upon the reinforcement of TOCNs. As evidenced by the FTIR and XRD, PVA and CS were considered miscible and compatible owing to hydrogen bonding interaction. These analyses also revealed the good dispersion of TOCNs within the PVA/CS polymer matrix. The improved properties due to the reinforcement of TOCNs can be highly beneficial in numerous applications. PMID:28773763

  2. Solar cells utilizing pulsed-energy crystallized microcrystalline/polycrystalline silicon

    DOEpatents

    Kaschmitter, J.L.; Sigmon, T.W.

    1995-10-10

    A process for producing multi-terminal devices such as solar cells wherein a pulsed high energy source is used to melt and crystallize amorphous silicon deposited on a substrate which is intolerant to high processing temperatures, whereby the amorphous silicon is converted into a microcrystalline/polycrystalline phase. Dopant and hydrogenation can be added during the fabrication process which provides for fabrication of extremely planar, ultra shallow contacts which results in reduction of non-current collecting contact volume. The use of the pulsed energy beams results in the ability to fabricate high efficiency microcrystalline/polycrystalline solar cells on the so-called low-temperature, inexpensive plastic substrates which are intolerant to high processing temperatures.

  3. Solar cells utilizing pulsed-energy crystallized microcrystalline/polycrystalline silicon

    DOEpatents

    Kaschmitter, James L.; Sigmon, Thomas W.

    1995-01-01

    A process for producing multi-terminal devices such as solar cells wherein a pulsed high energy source is used to melt and crystallize amorphous silicon deposited on a substrate which is intolerant to high processing temperatures, whereby to amorphous silicon is converted into a microcrystalline/polycrystalline phase. Dopant and hydrogenization can be added during the fabrication process which provides for fabrication of extremely planar, ultra shallow contacts which results in reduction of non-current collecting contact volume. The use of the pulsed energy beams results in the ability to fabricate high efficiency microcrystalline/polycrystalline solar cells on the so-called low-temperature, inexpensive plastic substrates which are intolerant to high processing temperatures.

  4. Modulation of population density and size of silver nanoparticles embedded in bacterial cellulose via ammonia exposure: visual detection of volatile compounds in a piece of plasmonic nanopaper

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Heli, B.; Morales-Narváez, E.; Golmohammadi, H.; Ajji, A.; Merkoçi, A.

    2016-04-01

    The localized surface plasmon resonance exhibited by noble metal nanoparticles can be sensitively tuned by varying their size and interparticle distances. We report that corrosive vapour (ammonia) exposure dramatically reduces the population density of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) embedded within bacterial cellulose, leading to a larger distance between the remaining nanoparticles and a decrease in the UV-Vis absorbance associated with the AgNP plasmonic properties. We also found that the size distribution of AgNPs embedded in bacterial cellulose undergoes a reduction in the presence of volatile compounds released during food spoilage, modulating the studied nanoplasmonic properties. In fact, such a plasmonic nanopaper exhibits a change in colour from amber to light amber upon the explored corrosive vapour exposure and from amber to a grey or taupe colour upon fish or meat spoilage exposure. These phenomena are proposed as a simple visual detection of volatile compounds in a flexible, transparent, permeable and stable single-use nanoplasmonic membrane, which opens the way to innovative approaches and capabilities in gas sensing and smart packaging.The localized surface plasmon resonance exhibited by noble metal nanoparticles can be sensitively tuned by varying their size and interparticle distances. We report that corrosive vapour (ammonia) exposure dramatically reduces the population density of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) embedded within bacterial cellulose, leading to a larger distance between the remaining nanoparticles and a decrease in the UV-Vis absorbance associated with the AgNP plasmonic properties. We also found that the size distribution of AgNPs embedded in bacterial cellulose undergoes a reduction in the presence of volatile compounds released during food spoilage, modulating the studied nanoplasmonic properties. In fact, such a plasmonic nanopaper exhibits a change in colour from amber to light amber upon the explored corrosive vapour exposure and

  5. Growth and field emission properties of globe-like diamond microcrystalline-aggregate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gao, Jin-hai; Zhang, Lan; Zhao, Limin; Hao, Haoshan

    2009-02-01

    The globe-like diamond microcrystalline-aggregates were fabricated by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) method. The ceramic with a Ti mental layer was used as substrate. The fabricated diamond was evaluated by Raman scattering spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction spectrum (XRD), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The field emission properties were tested by using a diode structure in a vacuum. A phosphor-coated indium tin oxide (ITO) anode was used for observing and characterizing the field emission. It was found that the globe-like diamond microcrystalline-aggregates exhibited good electron emission properties. The turn-on field was only 0.55 V/μm, and emission current density as high as 11 mA/cm 2 was obtained under an applied field of 2.9 V/μm for the first operation. The growth mechanism and field emission properties of the globe-like diamond microcrystalline-aggregates are discussed relating to microstructure and electrical conductivity.

  6. Bacterial cellulose synthesis mechanism of facultative anaerobe Enterobacter sp. FY-07.

    PubMed

    Ji, Kaihua; Wang, Wei; Zeng, Bing; Chen, Sibin; Zhao, Qianqian; Chen, Yueqing; Li, Guoqiang; Ma, Ting

    2016-02-25

    Enterobacter sp. FY-07 can produce bacterial cellulose (BC) under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Three potential BC synthesis gene clusters (bcsI, bcsII and bcsIII) of Enterobacter sp. FY-07 have been predicted using genome sequencing and comparative genome analysis, in which bcsIII was confirmed as the main contributor to BC synthesis by gene knockout and functional reconstitution methods. Protein homology, gene arrangement and gene constitution analysis indicated that bcsIII had high identity to the bcsI operon of Enterobacter sp. 638; however, its arrangement and composition were same as those of BC synthesizing operon of G. xylinum ATCC53582 except for the flanking sequences. According to the BC biosynthesizing process, oxygen is not directly involved in the reactions of BC synthesis, however, energy is required to activate intermediate metabolites and synthesize the activator, c-di-GMP. Comparative transcriptome and metabolite quantitative analysis demonstrated that under anaerobic conditions genes involved in the TCA cycle were downregulated, however, genes in the nitrate reduction and gluconeogenesis pathways were upregulated, especially, genes in three pyruvate metabolism pathways. These results suggested that Enterobacter sp. FY-07 could produce energy efficiently under anaerobic conditions to meet the requirement of BC biosynthesis.

  7. Bacterial cellulose synthesis mechanism of facultative anaerobe Enterobacter sp. FY-07

    PubMed Central

    Ji, Kaihua; Wang, Wei; Zeng, Bing; Chen, Sibin; Zhao, Qianqian; Chen, Yueqing; Li, Guoqiang; Ma, Ting

    2016-01-01

    Enterobacter sp. FY-07 can produce bacterial cellulose (BC) under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Three potential BC synthesis gene clusters (bcsI, bcsII and bcsIII) of Enterobacter sp. FY-07 have been predicted using genome sequencing and comparative genome analysis, in which bcsIII was confirmed as the main contributor to BC synthesis by gene knockout and functional reconstitution methods. Protein homology, gene arrangement and gene constitution analysis indicated that bcsIII had high identity to the bcsI operon of Enterobacter sp. 638; however, its arrangement and composition were same as those of BC synthesizing operon of G. xylinum ATCC53582 except for the flanking sequences. According to the BC biosynthesizing process, oxygen is not directly involved in the reactions of BC synthesis, however, energy is required to activate intermediate metabolites and synthesize the activator, c-di-GMP. Comparative transcriptome and metabolite quantitative analysis demonstrated that under anaerobic conditions genes involved in the TCA cycle were downregulated, however, genes in the nitrate reduction and gluconeogenesis pathways were upregulated, especially, genes in three pyruvate metabolism pathways. These results suggested that Enterobacter sp. FY-07 could produce energy efficiently under anaerobic conditions to meet the requirement of BC biosynthesis. PMID:26911736

  8. Parameter and Process Significance in Mechanistic Modeling of Cellulose Hydrolysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rotter, B.; Barry, A.; Gerhard, J.; Small, J.; Tahar, B.

    2005-12-01

    The rate of cellulose hydrolysis, and of associated microbial processes, is important in determining the stability of landfills and their potential impact on the environment, as well as associated time scales. To permit further exploration in this field, a process-based model of cellulose hydrolysis was developed. The model, which is relevant to both landfill and anaerobic digesters, includes a novel approach to biomass transfer between a cellulose-bound biofilm and biomass in the surrounding liquid. Model results highlight the significance of the bacterial colonization of cellulose particles by attachment through contact in solution. Simulations revealed that enhanced colonization, and therefore cellulose degradation, was associated with reduced cellulose particle size, higher biomass populations in solution, and increased cellulose-binding ability of the biomass. A sensitivity analysis of the system parameters revealed different sensitivities to model parameters for a typical landfill scenario versus that for an anaerobic digester. The results indicate that relative surface area of cellulose and proximity of hydrolyzing bacteria are key factors determining the cellulose degradation rate.

  9. [Microcrystalline cellulose and their flow -- morphological properties modifications as an effective excpients in tablet formulation technology containing lattice established API and also dry plant extract].

    PubMed

    Zgoda, Marian Mikołaj; Nachajski, Michał Jakub; Kołodziejczyk, Michał Krzysztof

    2009-01-01

    The production technology of powder cellulose (Arbocel) and microcrystaline cellulose (Vivapur) and their application in the composition of direct compression tablet mass was provided. The function of silicified microcrystaline cellulose type Prosolv in the direct compression process of dry plant extract was discussed. An analysis of the chemical structure of cellulose fiber (Vitacel) enabled determining its properties and applications in the manufacture of diet supplement, pharmaceutical and food products.

  10. Grafting of bacterial polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) onto cellulose via in situ reactive extrusion with dicumyl peroxide.

    PubMed

    Wei, Liqing; McDonald, Armando G; Stark, Nicole M

    2015-03-09

    Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) was grafted onto cellulose fiber by dicumyl peroxide (DCP) radical initiation via in situ reactive extrusion. The yield of the grafted (cellulose-g-PHB) copolymer was recorded and grafting efficiency was found to be dependent on the reaction time and DCP concentration. The grafting mechanism was investigated by electron spin resonance (ESR) analysis and showed the presence of radicals produced by DCP radical initiation. The grafted copolymer structure was determined by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) showed that the cellulose-g-PHB copolymer formed a continuous phase between the surfaces of cellulose and PHB as compared to cellulose-PHB blends. The relative crystallinity of cellulose and PHB were quantified from Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results, while the absolute degree of crystallinity was evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The reduction of crystallinity indicated the grafting reaction occurred not just in the amorphous region but also slightly in crystalline regions of both cellulose and PHB. The smaller crystal sizes suggested the brittleness of PHB was decreased. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the grafted copolymer was stabilized relative to PHB. By varying the reaction parameters the compositions (%PHB and %cellulose) of resultant cellulose-g-PHB copolymer are expected to be manipulated to obtain tunable properties.

  11. Biosynthesis of Bacterial Cellulose/Carboxylic Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Enzymatic Biofuel Cell Application

    PubMed Central

    Lv, Pengfei; Feng, Quan; Wang, Qingqing; Li, Guohui; Li, Dawei; Wei, Qufu

    2016-01-01

    Novel nanocomposites comprised of bacterial cellulose (BC) with carboxylic multi-walled carbon nanotubes (c-MWCNTs) incorporated into the BC matrix were prepared through a simple method of biosynthesis. The biocathode and bioanode for the enzyme biological fuel cell (EBFC) were prepared using BC/c-MWCNTs composite injected by laccase (Lac) and glucose oxidase (GOD) with the aid of glutaraldehyde (GA) crosslinking. Biosynthesis of BC/c-MWCNTs composite was characterized by digital photos, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR). The experimental results indicated the successful incorporation of c-MWCNTs into the BC. The electrochemical and biofuel performance were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). The power density and current density of EBFCs were recorded at 32.98 µW/cm3 and 0.29 mA/cm3, respectively. Additionally, the EBFCs also showed acceptable stability. Preliminary tests on double cells indicated that renewable BC have great potential in the application field of EBFCs. PMID:28773310

  12. Novel keratin modified bacterial cellulose nanocomposite production and characterization for skin tissue engineering.

    PubMed

    Keskin, Zalike; Sendemir Urkmez, Aylin; Hames, E Esin

    2017-06-01

    As it is known that bacterial cellulose (BC) is a biocompatible and natural biopolymer due to which it has a large set of biomedical applications. But still it lacks some desired properties, which limits its uses in many other applications. Therefore, the properties of BC need to be boosted up to an acceptable level. Here in this study for the first time, a new natural nanocomposite was produced by the incorporating keratin (isolated from human hair) to the BC (produced by Acetobacter xylinum) to enhance dermal fibroblast cells' attachment. Two different approaches were used in BC based nanocomposite production: in situ and post modifications. BC/keratin nanocomposites were characterized using SEM, FTIR, EDX, XRD, DSC and XPS analyses. Both production methods have yielded successful results for production of BC based nanocomposite-containing keratin. In vitro cell culture experiments performed with human skin keratinocytes and human skin fibroblast cells indicate the potential of the novel BC/keratin nanocomposites for use in skin tissue engineering. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Bacterial production of free fatty acids from freshwater macroalgal cellulose

    PubMed Central

    Hoovers, Spencer W.; Marner, Wesley D.; Brownson, Amy K.; Lennen, Rebecca M.; Wittkopp, Tyler M.; Yoshitani, Jun; Zulkifly, Shahrizim; Graham, Linda E.; Chaston, Sheena D.; McMahon, Katherine D.

    2013-01-01

    The predominant strategy for using algae to produce biofuels relies on the overproduction of lipids in microalgae with subsequent conversion to biodiesel (methyl-esters) or green diesel (alkanes). Conditions that both optimize algal growth and lipid accumulation rarely overlap, and differences in growth rates can lead to wild species outcompeting the desired lipid-rich strains. Here, we demonstrate an alternative strategy in which cellulose contained in the cell walls of multicellular algae is used as a feedstock for cultivating biofuel-producing micro-organisms. Cellulose was extracted from an environmental sample of Cladophora glomerata-dominated periphyton that was collected from Lake Mendota, WI, USA. The resulting cellulose cake was hydrolyzed by commercial enzymes to release fermentable glucose. The hydrolysis mixture was used to formulate an undefined medium that was able to support the growth, without supplementation, of a free fatty acid (FFA)-overproducing strain of Escherichia coli (Lennen et. al 2010). To maximize free fatty acid production from glucose, an isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG)-inducible vector was constructed to express the Umbellularia californica acyl–acyl carrier protein (ACP) thioesterase. Thioesterase expression was optimized by inducing cultures with 50 μM IPTG. Cell density and FFA titers from cultures grown on algae-based media reached 50% of those (~90 μg/mL FFA) cultures grown on rich Luria–Bertani broth supplemented with 0.2% glucose. In comparison, cultures grown in two media based on AFEX-pretreated corn stover generated tenfold less FFA than cultures grown in algae-based media. This study demonstrates that macroalgal cellulose is a potential carbon source for the production of biofuels or other microbially synthesized compounds. PMID:21643704

  14. Bacterial-cellulose-derived carbon nanofiber@MnO₂ and nitrogen-doped carbon nanofiber electrode materials: an asymmetric supercapacitor with high energy and power density.

    PubMed

    Chen, Li-Feng; Huang, Zhi-Hong; Liang, Hai-Wei; Guan, Qing-Fang; Yu, Shu-Hong

    2013-09-14

    A new kind of high-performance asymmetric supercapacitor is designed with pyrolyzed bacterial cellulose (p-BC)-coated MnO₂ as a positive electrode material and nitrogen-doped p-BC as a negative electrode material via an easy, efficient, large-scale, and green fabrication approach. The optimal asymmetric device possesses an excellent supercapacitive behavior with quite high energy and power density. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  15. Production of Bacterial Cellulose by Gluconacetobacter hansenii Using Corn Steep Liquor As Nutrient Sources

    PubMed Central

    Costa, Andrea F. S.; Almeida, Fabíola C. G.; Vinhas, Glória M.; Sarubbo, Leonie A.

    2017-01-01

    Cellulose is mainly produced by plants, although many bacteria, especially those belonging to the genus Gluconacetobacter, produce a very peculiar form of cellulose with mechanical and structural properties that can be exploited in numerous applications. However, the production cost of bacterial cellulose (BC) is very high to the use of expensive culture media, poor yields, downstream processing, and operating costs. Thus, the purpose of this work was to evaluate the use of industrial residues as nutrients for the production of BC by Gluconacetobacter hansenii UCP1619. BC pellicles were synthesized using the Hestrin–Schramm (HS) medium and alternative media formulated with different carbon (sugarcane molasses and acetylated glucose) and nitrogen sources [yeast extract, peptone, and corn steep liquor (CSL)]. A jeans laundry was also tested. None of the tested sources (beside CSL) worked as carbon and nutrient substitute. The alternative medium formulated with 1.5% glucose and 2.5% CSL led to the highest yield in terms of dry and hydrated mass. The BC mass produced in the alternative culture medium corresponded to 73% of that achieved with the HS culture medium. The BC pellicles demonstrated a high concentration of microfibrils and nanofibrils forming a homogenous, compact, and three-dimensional structure. The biopolymer produced in the alternative medium had greater thermal stability, as degradation began at 240°C, while degradation of the biopolymer produced in the HS medium began at 195°C. Both biopolymers exhibited high crystallinity. The mechanical tensile test revealed the maximum breaking strength and the elongation of the break of hydrated and dry pellicles. The dry BC film supported up to 48 MPa of the breaking strength and exhibited greater than 96.98% stiffness in comparison with the hydrated film. The dry film supported up to 48 MPa of the breaking strength and exhibited greater than 96.98% stiffness in comparison with the hydrated film. The values

  16. Analysis of Enzymatic Degradation of Cellulose Microfibrils using Quantitative Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reiter, Kyle; Raegen, Adam; Allen, Scott; Quirk, Amanda; Clarke, Anthony; Lipkowski, Jacek; Dutcher, John

    2013-03-01

    Cellulose is the largest component of biomass on Earth and, as a result, is a significant potential energy source. The production of cellulosic ethanol as a fuel source requires conversion of cellulose fibers into fermentable sugars. Increasing our understanding of the action of cellulose enzymes (cellulases) on cellulose microfibrils is an important step in developing more efficient industrial processes for the production of cellulosic ethanol. We have used a custom designed Surface Plasmon Resonance imaging (SPRi) device to study the action of cellulases from the Hypocrea jecorinasecretome on bacterial cellulose microfibrils. This has allowed us to determine the rates of action and extent of degradation of cellulose microfibrils on exposure to both individual cellulases and combinations of different classes of cellulases, which has allowed us to investigate synergistic interactions between the cellulases.

  17. Measurements of Raman crystallinity profiles in thin-film microcrystalline silicon solar cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Choong, G.; Vallat-Sauvain, E.; Multone, X.; Fesquet, L.; Kroll, U.; Meier, J.

    2013-06-01

    Wedge-polished thin film microcrystalline silicon solar cells are prepared and used for micro-Raman measurements. Thereby, the variations of the Raman crystallinity with depth are accessed easily. Depth resolution limits of the measurement set-up are established and calculations evidencing the role of optical limits are presented. Due to this new technique, Raman crystallinity profiles of two microcrystalline silicon cells give first hints for the optimization of the profile leading to improved electrical performance of such devices.

  18. Solid residues from Ruminococcus cellulose fermentations as components of wood adhesive formulations

    Treesearch

    P.J. Weimer; A.H. Conner; L.F. Lorenz

    2003-01-01

    Residues from the fermentation of cellulose by the anaerobic bacteria Ruminococcus albus (strain 7) or Ruminococcus flavefaciens (strains FD-1 or B34b) containing residual cellulose, bacterial cells and their associated adhesins, were examined for their ability to serve as components of adhesives for plywood fabrication. The residues contained differing amounts of...

  19. An alkaline thermostable recombinant Humicola grisea var. thermoidea cellobiohydrolase presents bifunctional (endo/exoglucanase) activity on cellulosic substrates.

    PubMed

    Oliveira, G S; Ulhoa, C J; Silveira, M H L; Andreaus, J; Silva-Pereira, I; Poças-Fonseca, M J; Faria, F P

    2013-01-01

    Humicola grisea var. thermoidea is a deuteromycete which secretes a large spectrum of hydrolytic enzymes when grown on lignocellulosic residues. This study focused on the heterologous expression and recombinant enzyme analysis of the major secreted cellulase when the fungus is grown on sugarcane bagasse as the sole carbon source. Cellobiohydrolase 1.2 (CBH 1.2) cDNA was cloned in Pichia pastoris under control of the AOX1 promoter. Recombinant protein (rCBH1.2) was efficiently produced and secreted as a functional enzyme, presenting a molecular mass of 47 kDa. Maximum enzyme production was achieved at 96 h, in culture medium supplemented with 1.34 % urea and 1 % yeast extract and upon induction with 1 % methanol. Recombinant enzyme exhibited optimum activity at 60 °C and pH 8, and presented a remarkable thermostability, particularly at alkaline pH. Activity was evaluated on different cellulosic substrates (carboxymethyl cellulose, filter paper, microcrystalline cellulose and 4-para-nitrophenyl β-D-glucopyranoside). Interestingly, rCBH1.2 presented both exoglucanase and endoglucanase activities and mechanical agitation increased substrate hydrolysis. Results indicate that rCBH1.2 is a potential biocatalyst for applications in the textile industry or detergent formulation.

  20. Assessing the impact of lyophilization process in production of implants based on the bacterial cellulose using Raman spectroscopy method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Timchenko, E. V.; Timchenko, P. E.; Pisareva, E. V.; Vlasov, M. Yu; Revin, V. V.; Klenova, N. A.; Asadova, A. A.

    2017-01-01

    In this article we present the research results of lyophilization process influence on the composition of hybrid materials based on the bacterial cellulose (BC) using Raman spectroscopy method. As an object of research was used BC, as well as hybrids based on it, comprising the various combinations of hydroxyapatite (HAP) and collagen. Our studies showed that during the lyophilization process changes the ratio of the individual components. It was found that for samples hybrid based on BC with addition of HAP occurs increase of PO4 3- peak intensity in the region 956 cm-1 with decreasing width, which indicates a change in the degree of HAP crystallinity.

  1. Production of bacterial cellulose using different carbon sources and culture media.

    PubMed

    Mohammadkazemi, Faranak; Azin, Mehrdad; Ashori, Alireza

    2015-03-06

    In this work, the effects of carbon sources and culture media on the production and structural properties of bacterial cellulose (BC) have been studied. BC nanofibers were synthesized using Gluconacetobacter xylinus strain PTCC 1734. Media used were Hestrin-Schramm (H), Yamanaka (Y), and Zhou (Z). Five different carbon sources, namely date syrup, glucose, mannitol, sucrose, and food-grade sucrose were used in these media. All the produced BC pellicles were characterized in terms of dry weight production, biomass yield, thermal stability, crystallinity and morphology by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The obtained results showed that mannitol lead to the highest yield, followed by sucrose. The highest production efficiency of mannitol might be due to the nitrogen source, which plays an important role. The maximum improvement on the thermal stability of the composites was achieved when mannitol was used in H medium. In addition, the crystallinity was higher in BC formed in H medium compared to other media. FE-SEM micrographs illustrated that the BC pellicles, synthesized in the culture media H and Z, were stable, unlike those in medium Y that were unstable. The micrographs of BC produced in media containing mannitol and sucrose provided evidence of the strong interfacial adhesion between the BC fibers without noticeable aggregates. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Bacterial cellulose production by Gluconacetobacter xylinus by employing alternative culture media.

    PubMed

    Jozala, Angela Faustino; Pértile, Renata Aparecida Nedel; dos Santos, Carolina Alves; de Carvalho Santos-Ebinuma, Valéria; Seckler, Marcelo Martins; Gama, Francisco Miguel; Pessoa, Adalberto

    2015-02-01

    Bacterial cellulose (BC) is used in different fields as a biological material due to its unique properties. Despite there being many BC applications, there still remain many problems associated with bioprocess technology, such as increasing productivity and decreasing production cost. New technologies that use waste from the food industry as raw materials for culture media promote economic advantages because they reduce environmental pollution and stimulate new research for science sustainability. For this reason, BC production requires optimized conditions to increase its application. The main objective of this study was to evaluate BC production by Gluconacetobacter xylinus using industry waste, namely, rotten fruits and milk whey, as culture media. Furthermore, the structure of BC produced at different conditions was also determined. The culture media employed in this study were composed of rotten fruit collected from the disposal of free markets, milk whey from a local industrial disposal, and their combination, and Hestrin and Schramm media was used as standard culture media. Although all culture media studied produced BC, the highest BC yield-60 mg/mL-was achieved with the rotten fruit culture. Thus, the results showed that rotten fruit can be used for BC production. This culture media can be considered as a profitable alternative to generate high-value products. In addition, it combines environmental concern with sustainable processes that can promote also the reduction of production cost.

  3. Double network bacterial cellulose hydrogel to build a biology-device interface.

    PubMed

    Shi, Zhijun; Li, Ying; Chen, Xiuli; Han, Hongwei; Yang, Guang

    2014-01-21

    Establishing a biology-device interface might enable the interaction between microelectronics and biotechnology. In this study, electroactive hydrogels have been produced using bacterial cellulose (BC) and conducting polymer (CP) deposited on the BC hydrogel surface to cover the BC fibers. The structures of these composites thus have double networks, one of which is a layer of electroactive hydrogels combined with BC and CP. The electroconductivity provides the composites with capabilities for voltage and current response, and the BC hydrogel layer provides good biocompatibility, biodegradability, bioadhesion and mass transport properties. Such a system might allow selective biological functions such as molecular recognition and specific catalysis and also for probing the detailed genetic and molecular mechanisms of life. A BC-CP composite hydrogel could then lead to a biology-device interface. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) are used here to study the composite hydrogels' electroactive property. BC-PAni and BC-PPy respond to voltage changes. This provides a mechanism to amplify electrochemical signals for analysis or detection. BC hydrogels were found to be able to support the growth, spreading and migration of human normal skin fibroblasts without causing any cytotoxic effect on the cells in the cell culture. These double network BC-CP hydrogels are biphasic Janus hydrogels which integrate electroactivity with biocompatibility, and might provide a biology-device interface to produce implantable devices for personalized and regenerative medicine.

  4. Double network bacterial cellulose hydrogel to build a biology-device interface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shi, Zhijun; Li, Ying; Chen, Xiuli; Han, Hongwei; Yang, Guang

    2013-12-01

    Establishing a biology-device interface might enable the interaction between microelectronics and biotechnology. In this study, electroactive hydrogels have been produced using bacterial cellulose (BC) and conducting polymer (CP) deposited on the BC hydrogel surface to cover the BC fibers. The structures of these composites thus have double networks, one of which is a layer of electroactive hydrogels combined with BC and CP. The electroconductivity provides the composites with capabilities for voltage and current response, and the BC hydrogel layer provides good biocompatibility, biodegradability, bioadhesion and mass transport properties. Such a system might allow selective biological functions such as molecular recognition and specific catalysis and also for probing the detailed genetic and molecular mechanisms of life. A BC-CP composite hydrogel could then lead to a biology-device interface. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) are used here to study the composite hydrogels' electroactive property. BC-PAni and BC-PPy respond to voltage changes. This provides a mechanism to amplify electrochemical signals for analysis or detection. BC hydrogels were found to be able to support the growth, spreading and migration of human normal skin fibroblasts without causing any cytotoxic effect on the cells in the cell culture. These double network BC-CP hydrogels are biphasic Janus hydrogels which integrate electroactivity with biocompatibility, and might provide a biology-device interface to produce implantable devices for personalized and regenerative medicine.

  5. Acetobacter xylinum Mutant with High Cellulose Productivity and an Ordered Structure.

    PubMed

    Watanabe, K; Tabuchi, M; Ishikawa, A; Takemura, H; Tsuchida, T; Morinaga, Y; Yoshinaga, F

    1998-01-01

    Acetobacter xylinum subsp. sucrofermentans BPR2001, a cellulose-producing bacterium, that was newly isolated from a natural source, produced large amounts of the water-soluble polysaccharide, acetan. UDP-glucose is known to be the direct precursor in the synthetic pathways of both cellulose and acetan. We attempted to breed mutant strains and succeeded in obtaining one, BPR3001A, which produced 65% more bacterial cellulose and accumulated 83% less acetan than the parent strain, BPR2001. The cellulose formed was found to be structurally ordered, with higher degrees of polymerization and crystallinity and larger crystallite size than those produced by BPR2001 and other conventional strains. Furthermore, a processed dry sheet of this cellulose exhibited a higher Young's modulus than that of the wild strain. The ordered structure of the cellulose obtained was probably due to the decreased amount of acetan which may reflect the ribbon assembly of cellulose fibrils without prevention of hydrogen bonding between microfibrils.

  6. Tertiary model of a plant cellulose synthase

    PubMed Central

    Sethaphong, Latsavongsakda; Haigler, Candace H.; Kubicki, James D.; Zimmer, Jochen; Bonetta, Dario; DeBolt, Seth; Yingling, Yaroslava G.

    2013-01-01

    A 3D atomistic model of a plant cellulose synthase (CESA) has remained elusive despite over forty years of experimental effort. Here, we report a computationally predicted 3D structure of 506 amino acids of cotton CESA within the cytosolic region. Comparison of the predicted plant CESA structure with the solved structure of a bacterial cellulose-synthesizing protein validates the overall fold of the modeled glycosyltransferase (GT) domain. The coaligned plant and bacterial GT domains share a six-stranded β-sheet, five α-helices, and conserved motifs similar to those required for catalysis in other GT-2 glycosyltransferases. Extending beyond the cross-kingdom similarities related to cellulose polymerization, the predicted structure of cotton CESA reveals that plant-specific modules (plant-conserved region and class-specific region) fold into distinct subdomains on the periphery of the catalytic region. Computational results support the importance of the plant-conserved region and/or class-specific region in CESA oligomerization to form the multimeric cellulose–synthesis complexes that are characteristic of plants. Relatively high sequence conservation between plant CESAs allowed mapping of known mutations and two previously undescribed mutations that perturb cellulose synthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana to their analogous positions in the modeled structure. Most of these mutation sites are near the predicted catalytic region, and the confluence of other mutation sites supports the existence of previously undefined functional nodes within the catalytic core of CESA. Overall, the predicted tertiary structure provides a platform for the biochemical engineering of plant CESAs. PMID:23592721

  7. Statistical optimization of medium composition for bacterial cellulose production by Gluconacetobacter hansenii UAC09 using coffee cherry husk extract--an agro-industry waste.

    PubMed

    Rani, Mahadevaswamy Usha; Rastogi, Navin K; Appaiah, K A Anu

    2011-07-01

    During the production of grape wine, the formation of thick leathery pellicle/bacterial cellulose (BC) at the airliquid interface was due to the bacterium, which was isolated and identified as Gluconacetobacter hansenii UAC09. Cultural conditions for bacterial cellulose production from G. hansenii UAC09 were optimized by central composite rotatable experimental design. To economize the BC production, coffee cherry husk (CCH) extract and corn steep liquor (CSL) were used as less expensive sources of carbon and nitrogen, respectively. CCH and CSL are byproducts from the coffee processing and starch processing industry, respectively. The interactions between pH (4.5- 8.5), CSL (2-10%), alcohol (0.5-2%), acetic acid (0.5- 2%), and water dilution rate to CCH ratio (1:1 to 1:5) were studied using response surface methodology. The optimum conditions for maximum BC production were pH (6.64), CSL (10%), alcohol (0.5%), acetic acid (1.13%), and water to CCH ratio (1:1). After 2 weeks of fermentation, the amount of BC produced was 6.24 g/l. This yield was comparable to the predicted value of 6.09 g/l. This is the first report on the optimization of the fermentation medium by RSM using CCH extract as the carbon source for BC production by G. hansenii UAC09.

  8. The effect of cellulose overproduction on binding and biofilm formation on roots by Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

    PubMed

    Matthysse, Ann G; Marry, Mazz; Krall, Leonard; Kaye, Mitchell; Ramey, Bronwyn E; Fuqua, Clay; White, Alan R

    2005-09-01

    Agrobacterium tumefaciens growing in liquid attaches to the surface of tomato and Arabidopsis thaliana roots, forming a biofilm. The bacteria also colonize roots grown in sterile quartz sand. Attachment, root colonization, and biofilm formation all were markedly reduced in celA and chvB mutants, deficient in production of cellulose and cyclic beta-(1,2)-D-glucans, respectively. We have identified two genes (celG and cell) in which mutations result in the overproduction of cellulose as judged by chemical fractionation and methylation analysis. Wild-type and chvB mutant strains carrying a cDNA clone of a cellulose synthase gene from the marine urochordate Ciona savignyi also overproduced cellulose. The overproduction in a wild-type strain resulted in increased biofilm formation on roots, as evaluated by light microscopy, and levels of root colonization intermediate between those of cellulose-minus mutants and the wild type. Overproduction of cellulose by a nonattaching chvB mutant restored biofilm formation and bacterial attachment in microscopic and viable cell count assays and partially restored root colonization. Although attachment to plant surfaces was restored, overproduction of cellulose did not restore virulence in the chvB mutant strain, suggesting that simple bacterial binding to plant surfaces is not sufficient for pathogenesis.

  9. Synthesis of cellulose-2,3-bis(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) in an ionic liquid and its chiral separation efficiency as stationary phase.

    PubMed

    Liu, Runqiang; Zhang, Yijun; Bai, Lianyang; Huang, Mingxian; Chen, Jun; Zhang, Yuping

    2014-04-11

    A chiral selector of cellulose-2,3-bis(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) (CBDMPC) was synthesized by reacting 3,5-dimethylphenyl isocyanate with microcrystalline cellulose dissolved in an ionic liquid of 1-allyl-3-methyl-imidazolium chloride (AMIMCl). The obtained chiral selector was effectively characterized by infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis and 1H NMR. The selector was reacted with 3-aminopropylsilanized silica gel and the CBDMPC bonded chiral stationary phase (CSP) was obtained. Chromatographic evaluation of the prepared CSPs was conducted by high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) and baseline separation of three typical fungicides including hexaconazole, metalaxyl and myclobutanil was achieved using n-hexane/isopropanol as the mobile phase with a flow rate 1.0 mL/min. Experimental results also showed that AMIMCl could be recycled easily and reused in the preparation of CSPs as an effective reaction media.

  10. Synthesis of Cellulose-2,3-bis(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) in an Ionic Liquid and Its Chiral Separation Efficiency as Stationary Phase

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Runqiang; Zhang, Yijun; Bai, Lianyang; Huang, Mingxian; Chen, Jun; Zhang, Yuping

    2014-01-01

    A chiral selector of cellulose-2,3-bis(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) (CBDMPC) was synthesized by reacting 3,5-dimethylphenyl isocyanate with microcrystalline cellulose dissolved in an ionic liquid of 1-allyl-3-methyl-imidazolium chloride (AMIMCl). The obtained chiral selector was effectively characterized by infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis and 1H NMR. The selector was reacted with 3-aminopropylsilanized silica gel and the CBDMPC bonded chiral stationary phase (CSP) was obtained. Chromatographic evaluation of the prepared CSPs was conducted by high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) and baseline separation of three typical fungicides including hexaconazole, metalaxyl and myclobutanil was achieved using n-hexane/isopropanol as the mobile phase with a flow rate 1.0 mL/min. Experimental results also showed that AMIMCl could be recycled easily and reused in the preparation of CSPs as an effective reaction media. PMID:24733066

  11. Cellulose as an extracellular matrix component present in Enterobacter sakazakii biofilms.

    PubMed

    Grimm, Maya; Stephan, Roger; Iversen, Carol; Manzardo, Giuseppe G G; Rattei, Thomas; Riedel, Kathrin; Ruepp, Andreas; Frishman, Dmitrij; Lehner, Angelika

    2008-01-01

    Cellulose was identified and characterized as an extracellular matrix component present in the biofilm of an Enterobacter sakazakii clinical isolate grown in nutrient-deficient (M9) medium. Using a bacterial artificial cloning approach in Escherichia coli and subsequent screening of transformants for fluorescence on calcofluor plates, nine genes organized in two operons were identified as putatively responsible for the biosynthesis of cellulose. In addition to the genes already described for cellulose production, two more genes were identified, putatively transcribed together with the genes from the first operon. Putative cellulose in E. sakazakii ES5 biofilm grown on glass coverslips was visualized by calcofluor staining and confocal fluorescence laser scanning microscopy. For the first time, the presence of cellulose in biofilms produced by E. sakazakii was confirmed by methylation analysis.

  12. P and n-type microcrystalline semiconductor alloy material including band gap widening elements, devices utilizing same

    DOEpatents

    Guha, Subhendu; Ovshinsky, Stanford R.

    1988-10-04

    An n-type microcrystalline semiconductor alloy material including a band gap widening element; a method of fabricating p-type microcrystalline semiconductor alloy material including a band gap widening element; and electronic and photovoltaic devices incorporating said n-type and p-type materials.

  13. The preparation by extrusion/spheronization and the properties of pellets containing drugs, microcrystalline cellulose and glyceryl monostearate.

    PubMed

    Chatchawalsaisin, Jittima; Podczeck, Fridrun; Newton, J Michael

    2005-01-01

    Pellets have been prepared by extrusion and spheronization containing microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and four model drugs with decreasing order of solubility, paracetamol (P), diclofenac sodium (D), ibuprofen (IB) and indomethacin (IN) at a 10% level with and without the addition of a range of levels of glyceryl monostearate (GMS). The drugs differed in their response to extrusion in that all formulations containing the drug D had a 'steady state' extrusion profile whereas the other three drugs exhibited 'forced flow' indicating the possibility of water migration during the process of ram extrusion. The presence of GMS did not influence this effect. The drug D also required consistently less water to function than the other three drugs. In spite of these differences in extrusion performance, it was possible to prepare satisfactory pellets from formulations of all the drugs with 0, 30 and 60% GMS combined with 90, 60 or 30% of MCC at a range of water levels. It was also possible to prepare pellets containing the drug D with 70, 80 and 90% GMS, with corresponding quantities of 20, 10 and 0% of MCC. It was also possible to prepare the pellet formulations by dispersing the drugs in molten GMS, grinding and processing this with MCC and water. Such systems retained the processing characteristics of the composition made by the blending of the powder. The presence of GMS in all cases reduced the quantity of water required for the process to function. The steady state or the mean of the range of the forces observed during forced flow, were dependent on the composition and the quantity of water added. The surface of the extrudate appeared smooth and measurements of surface roughness established that the value of the rugosity R(a) for any of the extrudates did not exceed 6 microm. The extrudate diameter was found to increase with the quantity of GMS in the formulation. The pellets produced were all within a relatively narrow size range (three sieve fractions of a root two

  14. Medium Chain-Length Polyhydroxyalkanoate Copolymer Modified by Bacterial Cellulose for Medical Devices.

    PubMed

    Panaitescu, Denis Mihaela; Lupescu, Irina; Frone, Adriana Nicoleta; Chiulan, Ioana; Nicolae, Cristian Andi; Tofan, Vlad; Stefaniu, Amalia; Somoghi, Raluca; Trusca, Roxana

    2017-10-09

    Medium chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates (mPHAs) are flexible elastomeric biopolymers with valuable properties for biomedical applications like artificial arteries and other medical implants. However, an environmentally friendly and high productivity process together with the tuning of the mechanical and biological properties of mPHAs are mandatory for this purpose. Here, for the first time, a melt processing technique was applied for the preparation of bionanocomposites starting from poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate) (PHO) and bacterial cellulose nanofibers (BC). The incorporation of only 3 wt % BC in PHO improved its thermal stability with 25 °C and reinforced it, increasing the Young's modulus with 76% and the tensile strength with 44%. The percolation threshold calculated with the aspect ratio of the fibers after melt processing was very low and close to 3 wt %. We showed that this bionanocomposite is able to preserve the ductile behavior during storage, no important aging being noted between 3 h and one month after compression-molding. Moreover, this study is the first to investigate the melt processability of PHO nanocomposite for tube extrusion. In addition, biocompatibility study showed no proinflammatory immune response and better cell adhesion for PHO/BC nanocomposite with 3 wt % BC and demonstrated the high feasibility of this bionanocomposite for in vivo application of tissue-engineered blood vessels.

  15. Using wastewater after lipid fermentation as substrate for bacterial cellulose production by Gluconacetobacter xylinus.

    PubMed

    Huang, Chao; Guo, Hai-Jun; Xiong, Lian; Wang, Bo; Shi, Si-Lan; Chen, Xue-Fang; Lin, Xiao-Qing; Wang, Can; Luo, Jun; Chen, Xin-De

    2016-01-20

    In this study, lipid fermentation wastewater (fermentation broth after separation with yeast biomass) with high Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) value of 25,591 mg/L was used as substrate for bacterial cellulose (BC) production by Gluconacetobacter xylinus for the first time. After 5 days of fermentation, the highest BC yield (0.659 g/L) was obtained. Both monosaccharide and polysaccharides present in lipid fermentation wastewater could be utilized by G. xylinus simultaneously during fermentation. By this bioconversion, 30.0% of COD could be removed after 10 days of fermentation and the remaining wastewater could be used for further BC fermentation. The crystallinity of BC samples in lipid fermentation wastewater increased gradually during fermentation but overall the environment of lipid fermentation wastewater showed small influence on BC structure by comparison with that in traditional HS medium by using FE-SEM, FTIR, and XRD. By this work, the possibility of using lipid fermentation wastewater containing low value carbohydrate polymer (extracellular polysaccharides) for high value carbohydrate polymer (BC) production was proven. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. The ability of retention, drug release and rheological properties of nanogel bioadhesives based on cellulose derivatives.

    PubMed

    Keshavarz, M; Kaffashi, B

    2014-12-01

    The rheological and drug release behavior of biopolymer nanocomposite gels based on the cellulose derivatives, formulated as the bioadhesive drug delivery platforms, were investigated. The bioadhesive gel is composed of the microcrystalline cellulose, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose and phosphate buffered saline (pH = 7.4 at 20 °C) as the dissolution and release medium. The reinforcing nanofillers such as MMT-clay, fumed porous silica and porous starch were used as additives in the nanogel bioadhesive. The constant steady state viscosities of this nanogels upon incorporation of various nanofillers into the systems is the sign of structural stability. Hence, this system is suitable for use in the controlled drug delivery systems in contact with the biological tissues. Based on the rheological measurements, the shear flow properties (i.e. zero shear viscosity and yield stress) were influenced by the concentration of polymers and nanoparticles. The results indicate that the nonlinear rheological data are fitted properly by the Giesekus model. Furthermore, the results showed that the nonlinear viscoelastic parameters (λ and α) are highly affected by the biogel and nanoparticles concentrations. Finally, the drug release was measured, and the results indicated that the biopolymer-clay nanocomposites have appropriate release pattern as the release is better controlled compared to the other nanogel formulations.

  17. Nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers derived from polypyrrole coated bacterial cellulose as high-performance electrode materials for supercapacitors and Li-ion batteries

    DOE PAGES

    Lei, Wen; Han, Lili; Xuan, Cuijuan; ...

    2016-05-24

    Here, nitrogen-doped carbon nanofiber (NDCN) was synthesized via carbonization of polypyrrole (PPy) coated bacterial cellulose (BC) composites, where BC serves as templates as well as precursor, and PPy serves as the nitrogen source. The synthesized NDCN was employed as electrode for both supercapacitors and Li-ion batteries. The large surface area exposed to electrolyte resulting from the 3D carbon networks leads to sufficient electrode/electrolyte interface and creates shorter transport paths of electrolyte ions and Li + ion. Besides, the three types of N dopants in NDCN improve the electronic conductivity, as well as superior electrochemical performance.

  18. Salmonella Biofilm Formation on Aspergillus niger Involves Cellulose – Chitin Interactions

    PubMed Central

    Brandl, Maria T.; Carter, Michelle Q.; Parker, Craig T.; Chapman, Matthew R.; Huynh, Steven; Zhou, Yaguang

    2011-01-01

    Salmonella cycles between host and nonhost environments, where it can become an active member of complex microbial communities. The role of fungi in the environmental adaptation of enteric pathogens remains relatively unexplored. We have discovered that S. enterica Typhimurium rapidly attaches to and forms biofilms on the hyphae of the common fungus, Aspergillus niger. Several Salmonella enterica serovars displayed a similar interaction, whereas other bacterial species were unable to bind to the fungus. Bacterial attachment to chitin, a major constituent of fungal cell walls, mirrored this specificity. Pre-incubation of S. Typhimurium with N-acetylglucosamine, the monomeric component of chitin, reduced binding to chitin beads by as much as 727-fold and inhibited attachment to A. niger hyphae considerably. A cellulose-deficient mutant of S. Typhimurium failed to attach to chitin beads and to the fungus. Complementation of this mutant with the cellulose operon restored binding to chitin beads to 79% of that of the parental strain and allowed for attachment and biofilm formation on A. niger, indicating that cellulose is involved in bacterial attachment to the fungus via the chitin component of its cell wall. In contrast to cellulose, S. Typhimurium curli fimbriae were not required for attachment and biofilm development on the hyphae but were critical for its stability. Our results suggest that cellulose–chitin interactions are required for the production of mixed Salmonella-A. niger biofilms, and support the hypothesis that encounters with chitinaceous alternate hosts may contribute to the ecological success of human pathogens. PMID:22003399

  19. Morphological structure of Gluconacetobacter xylinus cellulose and cellulose-based organic-inorganic composite materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smyslov, R. Yu; Ezdakova, K. V.; Kopitsa, G. P.; Khripunov, A. K.; Bugrov, A. N.; Tkachenko, A. A.; Angelov, B.; Pipich, V.; Szekely, N. K.; Baranchikov, A. E.; Latysheva, E.; Chetverikov, Yu O.; Haramus, V.

    2017-05-01

    Scanning electron microscopy, ultra-small-angle neutron scattering (USANS), small-angle neutron and X-ray scattering (SANS and SAXS), as well as low-temperature nitrogen adsorption, were used in the studies of micro- and mesostructure of polymer matrix prepared from air-dry preliminarily disintegrated cellulose nano-gel film (synthesized by Gluconacetobacter xylinus) and the composites based on this bacterial cellulose. The composites included ZrO2 nanoparticles, Tb3+ in the form of low molecular weight salt and of metal-polymer complex with poly(vinylpyrrolydone)-poly(methacryloyl-o-aminobenzoic acid) copolymer. The combined analysis of the data obtained allowed revealing three levels of fractal organization in mesostructure of G. xylinus cellulose and its composites. It was shown that both the composition and an aggregation state of dopants have a significant impact on the structural characteristics of the organic-inorganic composites. The composites containing Tb3+ ions demonstrate efficient luminescence; its intensity is an order of magnitude higher in the case of the composites with the metal-polymer complex. It was found that there is the optimal content of ZrO2 nanoparticles in composites resulting in increased Tb3+ luminescence.

  20. Highly hydrophobic biopolymers prepared by the surface pentafluorobenzoylation of cellulose substrates.

    PubMed

    Cunha, Ana G; Freire, Carmen S R; Silvestre, Armando J D; Pascoal Neto, Carlos; Gandini, Alessandro; Orblin, Elina; Fardim, Pedro

    2007-04-01

    New highly hydrophobic/lipophobic biopolymers were prepared by the controlled heterogeneous pentafluorobenzoylation of cellulose substrates, i.e., plant and bacterial cellulose fibers. The characterization of the modified fibers was performed by elemental analysis, FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry, and surface analysis (XPS, ToF-SIMS, and contact angle measurements). The degree of substitution of the ensuing pentafluorobenzoylated fibers ranged from 0.014 to 0.39. The hydrolytic stability of these perfluorinated cellulose derivatives was also evaluated and showed that they were quite water stable, although of course the fluorinated moieties could readily be removed by hydrolysis in an aqueous alkaline medium.

  1. Structure of the cellulose synthase complex of Gluconacetobacter hansenii at 23.4 Å resolution

    DOE PAGES

    Du, Juan; Vepachedu, Venkata; Cho, Sung Hyun; ...

    2016-05-23

    Bacterial crystalline cellulose is used in biomedical and industrial applications, but the molecular mechanisms of synthesis are unclear. Unlike most bacteria, which make non-crystalline cellulose, Gluconacetobacter hansenii extrudes profuse amounts of crystalline cellulose. Its cellulose synthase (AcsA) exists as a complex with accessory protein AcsB, forming a 'terminal complex' (TC) that has been visualized by freeze-fracture TEM at the base of ribbons of crystalline cellulose. The catalytic AcsAB complex is embedded in the cytoplasmic membrane. The C-terminal portion of AcsC is predicted to form a translocation channel in the outer membrane, with the rest of AcsC possibly interacting with AcsDmore » in the periplasm. It is thus believed that synthesis from an organized array of TCs coordinated with extrusion by AcsC and AcsD enable this bacterium to make crystalline cellulose. The only structural data that exist for this system are the above mentioned freeze-fracture TEM images, fluorescence microscopy images revealing that TCs align in a row, a crystal structure of AcsD bound to cellopentaose, and a crystal structure of PilZ domain of AcsA. Here we advance our understanding of the structural basis for crystalline cellulose production by bacterial cellulose synthase by determining a negative stain structure resolved to 23.4 angstrom for highly purified AcsAB complex that catalyzed incorporation of UDP-glucose into β-1,4-glucan chains, and responded to the presence of allosteric activator cyclic diguanylate. Although the AcsAB complex was functional in vitro, the synthesized cellulose was not visible in TEM. The negative stain structure revealed that AcsAB is very similar to that of the BcsAB synthase of Rhodobacter sphaeroides, a non-crystalline cellulose producing bacterium. Furthermore, the results indicate that the crystalline cellulose producing and non-crystalline cellulose producing bacteria share conserved catalytic and membrane translocation

  2. Structure of the Cellulose Synthase Complex of Gluconacetobacter hansenii at 23.4 Å Resolution

    PubMed Central

    Du, Juan; Vepachedu, Venkata; Cho, Sung Hyun; Kumar, Manish; Nixon, B. Tracy

    2016-01-01

    Bacterial crystalline cellulose is used in biomedical and industrial applications, but the molecular mechanisms of synthesis are unclear. Unlike most bacteria, which make non-crystalline cellulose, Gluconacetobacter hansenii extrudes profuse amounts of crystalline cellulose. Its cellulose synthase (AcsA) exists as a complex with accessory protein AcsB, forming a 'terminal complex' (TC) that has been visualized by freeze-fracture TEM at the base of ribbons of crystalline cellulose. The catalytic AcsAB complex is embedded in the cytoplasmic membrane. The C-terminal portion of AcsC is predicted to form a translocation channel in the outer membrane, with the rest of AcsC possibly interacting with AcsD in the periplasm. It is thus believed that synthesis from an organized array of TCs coordinated with extrusion by AcsC and AcsD enable this bacterium to make crystalline cellulose. The only structural data that exist for this system are the above mentioned freeze-fracture TEM images, fluorescence microscopy images revealing that TCs align in a row, a crystal structure of AcsD bound to cellopentaose, and a crystal structure of PilZ domain of AcsA. Here we advance our understanding of the structural basis for crystalline cellulose production by bacterial cellulose synthase by determining a negative stain structure resolved to 23.4 Å for highly purified AcsAB complex that catalyzed incorporation of UDP-glucose into β-1,4-glucan chains, and responded to the presence of allosteric activator cyclic diguanylate. Although the AcsAB complex was functional in vitro, the synthesized cellulose was not visible in TEM. The negative stain structure revealed that AcsAB is very similar to that of the BcsAB synthase of Rhodobacter sphaeroides, a non-crystalline cellulose producing bacterium. The results indicate that the crystalline cellulose producing and non-crystalline cellulose producing bacteria share conserved catalytic and membrane translocation components, and support the

  3. Structure of the cellulose synthase complex of Gluconacetobacter hansenii at 23.4 Å resolution

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Du, Juan; Vepachedu, Venkata; Cho, Sung Hyun

    Bacterial crystalline cellulose is used in biomedical and industrial applications, but the molecular mechanisms of synthesis are unclear. Unlike most bacteria, which make non-crystalline cellulose, Gluconacetobacter hansenii extrudes profuse amounts of crystalline cellulose. Its cellulose synthase (AcsA) exists as a complex with accessory protein AcsB, forming a 'terminal complex' (TC) that has been visualized by freeze-fracture TEM at the base of ribbons of crystalline cellulose. The catalytic AcsAB complex is embedded in the cytoplasmic membrane. The C-terminal portion of AcsC is predicted to form a translocation channel in the outer membrane, with the rest of AcsC possibly interacting with AcsDmore » in the periplasm. It is thus believed that synthesis from an organized array of TCs coordinated with extrusion by AcsC and AcsD enable this bacterium to make crystalline cellulose. The only structural data that exist for this system are the above mentioned freeze-fracture TEM images, fluorescence microscopy images revealing that TCs align in a row, a crystal structure of AcsD bound to cellopentaose, and a crystal structure of PilZ domain of AcsA. Here we advance our understanding of the structural basis for crystalline cellulose production by bacterial cellulose synthase by determining a negative stain structure resolved to 23.4 angstrom for highly purified AcsAB complex that catalyzed incorporation of UDP-glucose into β-1,4-glucan chains, and responded to the presence of allosteric activator cyclic diguanylate. Although the AcsAB complex was functional in vitro, the synthesized cellulose was not visible in TEM. The negative stain structure revealed that AcsAB is very similar to that of the BcsAB synthase of Rhodobacter sphaeroides, a non-crystalline cellulose producing bacterium. Furthermore, the results indicate that the crystalline cellulose producing and non-crystalline cellulose producing bacteria share conserved catalytic and membrane translocation

  4. Fabrication and characterization of regenerated cellulose films obtained from oil palm empty fruit bunch

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nor Amalini, A.; Melina Cheah, M. Y.; Wan Rosli, W. D.; Hayati, S.; Mohamad Haafiz, M. K.

    2017-12-01

    Development of regenerated cellulose (RC) derived from underutilized cellulosic biomass has recently gained attention as potential petroleum-based polymer replacers. The objective of this current work is to evaluate the properties of RC films obtained from oil palm empty fruit bunch microcrystalline cellulose (OPEFB-MCC) through environmental process. The RC films were fabricated by using different amounts of OPEFB-MCC (4, 6 and 8 %) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BMIMCl) was used as green OPEFB-MCC dissolving medium. The resultant RC films were then characterized by means of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, mechanical, thermal and morphological properties by using tensile test, differential scanning colorimetry (DSC), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) respectively. Increase in OPEFB-MCC amounts from 4 to 8 % enhanced the tensile strength and elongation at break of RC by 101 and 78 %, respectively, indicating stronger and more flexible films were formed. It is interesting to note that the Tg (101-154 °C) and Tm(130-187 °C) were found shifted to higher temperature with higher proportions of OPEFB-MCC in RC films. Meanwhile, FTIR analysis showed no new peak presented in RC films, suggesting that BMIMCl is a non-derivatizing solvent to OPEFB-MCC. Conspicuous changes in the spectra of RC films compared to OPEFB-MCC at 3200-3600 cm-1, 1430 cm-1, 1162 cm-1, 1111 cm-1, 1020-1040 cm-1 and 896 cm-1 were associated with transformation of cellulose I to cellulose II structure or/and decrease in crystallinity occurred after regeneration process. SEM micrographs of the RC films revealed that higher OPEFB-MCC contents exhibited smoother and more homogeneous surfaces morphology. Overall, OPEFB-MCC exhibited good film forming ability for RC production and may offer potential application in various industries including food packaging, medical goods and electronic devices.

  5. Cellulose and Their Characteristic Ice Nucleation Activity- Freezing on a Chip

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Häusler, Thomas; Felgitsch, Laura; Grothe, Hinrich

    2016-04-01

    The influence of clouds on the Earth's climate system is well known (IPCC, 2013). Cloud microphysics determines for example cloud lifetime and precipitation properties. Clouds are cooling the climate system by reflecting incoming solar radiation and warm its surface by trapping outgoing infrared radiation (Baker and Peter, 2008). In all these processes, aerosol particles play a crucial role by acting as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) for liquid droplets and as an ice nucleation particle (INP) for the formation of ice particles. Freezing processes at higher temperatures than -38°C occur heterogeneously (Pruppacher and Klett 1997). Therefore aerosol particles act like a catalyst, which reduces the energy barrier for nucleation. The nucleation mechanisms, especially the theory of functional sites are not entirely understood. It remains unclear which class of compound nucleates ice. Here we present a unique technique to perform drop- freezing experiments in a more efficient way. A self-made freezing- chip will be presented. Measurements done to proof the efficiency of our setup as well as advantages compared with other setups will be discussed. Furthermore we present a proxy for biological INPs, microcrystalline cellulose. Cellulose is the main component of herbal cell walls (about 50 wt%). It is a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose can contribute to the diverse spectrum of ice nucleation particles. We present results of the nucleation activity measurements of MCCs as well as the influence of concentration, preparation or chemical modification.

  6. Gas-phase surface esterification of cellulose microfibrils and whiskers.

    PubMed

    Berlioz, Sophie; Molina-Boisseau, Sonia; Nishiyama, Yoshiharu; Heux, Laurent

    2009-08-10

    A new and highly efficient synthetic method has been developed for the surface esterification of model cellulosic substrates of high crystallinity and accessibility, namely, freeze-dried tunicin whiskers and bacterial cellulose microfibrils dried by the critical point method. The reaction, which is based on the gas-phase action of palmitoyl chloride, was monitored by solid-state CP-MAS (13)C NMR. It was found that the grafting density not only depended on the experimental conditions, but also on the nature and conditioning of the cellulose samples. The structural and morphological modifications of the substrates at various degrees of grafting were revealed by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. These characterizations indicated that the esterification proceeded from the surface of the substrate to their crystalline core. Hence, for moderate degree of substitution, the surface was fully grafted whereas the cellulose core remained unmodified and the original fibrous morphology maintained. An almost total esterification could be achieved under certain conditions, leading to highly substituted cellulose esters, presenting characteristic X-ray diffraction patterns.

  7. Molecular comparison of the sampling efficiency of four types of airborne bacterial samplers.

    PubMed

    Li, Kejun

    2011-11-15

    In the present study, indoor and outdoor air samples were collected using four types of air samplers often used for airborne bacterial sampling. These air samplers included two solid impactors (BioStage and RCS), one liquid impinger (BioSampler), and one filter sampler with two kinds of filters (a gelatin and a cellulose acetate filter). The collected air samples were further processed to analyze the diversity and abundance of culturable bacteria and total bacteria through standard culture techniques, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprinting and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis. The DGGE analysis indicated that the air samples collected using the BioStage and RCS samplers have higher culturable bacterial diversity, whereas the samples collected using the BioSampler and the cellulose acetate filter sampler have higher total bacterial diversity. To obtain more information on the sampled bacteria, some gel bands were excised and sequenced. In terms of sampling efficiency, results from the qPCR tests indicated that the collected total bacterial concentration was higher in samples collected using the BioSampler and the cellulose acetate filter sampler. In conclusion, the sampling bias and efficiency of four kinds of air sampling systems were compared in the present study and the two solid impactors were concluded to be comparatively efficient for culturable bacterial sampling, whereas the liquid impactor and the cellulose acetate filter sampler were efficient for total bacterial sampling. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Zinc impregnated cellulose nanocomposites: Synthesis, characterization and applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ali, Attarad; Ambreen, Sidra; Maqbool, Qaisar; Naz, Sania; Shams, Muhammad Fahad; Ahmad, Madiha; Phull, Abdul Rehman; Zia, Muhammad

    2016-11-01

    Nanocomposite materials have broad applicability due to synergistic effect of combined components. In present investigation, cellulose isolated from citrus peel waste is used as a supporting material; impregnation of zinc oxide nanoparticles via co-precipitation method. The characterization of nano composite is carried out through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) resulting less than 10 μm cellulose fiber and approx. 50 nm ZnO NPs. Zinc oxide impregnated cellulose (ZnO-Cel) exhibited significant bacterial devastation property when compared to ZnO NPs or Cellulose via disc diffusion and colony forming unit methods. In addition, the ZnO-Cel exhibited significant total antioxidant, and minor DPPH free radical scavenging and total reducing power activities. The nano composite also showed time dependent increase in photocatalytic by effectively degrading methylene blue dye up to 69.5% under sunlight irradiation within 90 min. The results suggest effective utilization of cellulose obtained from citrus waste and synthesis of pharmacologically important nano-composites that can be exploited in wound dressing; defence against microbial attack and healing due to antioxidative property, furthermore can also be used for waste water treatment.

  9. Comparative study on corrosion resistance and in vitro biocompatibility of bulk nanocrystalline and microcrystalline biomedical 304 stainless steel.

    PubMed

    Nie, F L; Wang, S G; Wang, Y B; Wei, S C; Zheng, Y F

    2011-07-01

    SUS 304 stainless steels have been widely used in orthodontics and implants such as archwires, brackets, and screws. The purpose of present study was to investigate the biocompatibility of both the commercial microcrystalline biomedical 304 stainless steel (microcrystalline 304ss) and novel-fabricated nanocrystalline 304 stainless steel (nanocrystalline 304ss). Bulk nanocrystalline 304ss sheets had been successfully prepared by microcrystalline 304ss plates using severe rolling technique. The electrochemical corrosion and ion release behavior immersion in artificial saliva were measured to evaluate the property of biocorrosion in oral environment. The cell lines of murine and human cell lines from oral and endothelial environment were co-cultured with extracts to evaluate the cytotoxicity and provide referential evidence in vivo. The polarization resistance trials indicated that nanocrystalline 304ss is more corrosion resistant than the microcrystalline 304ss in oral-like environment with higher corrosion potential, and the amount of toxic ions released into solution after immersion is lower than that of the microcrystalline 304ss and the daily dietary intake level. The cytotoxicity results also elucidated that nanocrystalline 304ss is biologically compatible in vitro, even better than that of microcrystalline 304ss. Based on the much higher mechanical and physical performances, nanocrystalline 304ss with enhanced biocorrosion property, well-behaved in vitro cytocompatibility can be a promising alternative in orthodontics and fixation fields in oral cavity. Copyright © 2011 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

    PubMed

    Tajima, Kenji; Kusumoto, Ryo; Kose, Ryota; Kono, Hiroyuki; Matsushima, Tokuo; Isono, Takuya; Yamamoto, Takuya; Satoh, Toshifumi

    2017-10-09

    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.

  11. Bacterial cellulose hydrolysis in anaerobic environmental subsystems--Clostridium thermocellum and Clostridium stercorarium, thermophilic plant-fiber degraders.

    PubMed

    Zverlov, Vladimir V; Schwarz, Wolfgang H

    2008-03-01

    Cellulose degradation is a rare trait in bacteria. However, the truly cellulolytic bacteria are extremely efficient hydrolyzers of plant cell wall polysaccharides, especially those in thermophilic anaerobic ecosystems. Clostridium stercorarium, a thermophilic ubiquitous soil dweller, has a simple cellulose hydrolyzing enzyme system of only two cellulases. However, it seems to be better suited for the hydrolysis of a wide range of hemicelluloses. Clostridium thermocellum, an ubiquitous thermophilic gram-type positive bacterium, is one of the most successful cellulose degraders known. Its extracellular enzyme complex, the cellulosome, was prepared from C. thermocellum cultures grown on cellulose, cellobiose, barley beta-1,3-1,4-glucan, or a mixture of xylan and cellulose. The single proteins were identified by peptide chromatography and MALDI-TOF-TOF. Eight cellulosomal proteins could be found in all eight preparations, 32 proteins occur in at least one preparation. A number of enzymatic components had not been identified previously. The proportion of components changes if C. thermocellum is grown on different substrates. Mutants of C. thermocellum, devoid of scaffoldin CipA, that now allow new types of experiments with in vitro cellulosome reassembly and a role in cellulose hydrolysis are described. The characteristics of these mutants provide strong evidence of the positive effect of complex (cellulosome) formation on hydrolysis of crystalline cellulose.

  12. Mechanical and thermal properties of bacterial-cellulose-fibre-reinforced Mater-Bi(®) bionanocomposite.

    PubMed

    Nainggolan, Hamonangan; Gea, Saharman; Bilotti, Emiliano; Peijs, Ton; Hutagalung, Sabar D

    2013-01-01

    The effects of the addition of fibres of bacterial cellulose (FBC) to commercial starch of Mater-Bi(®) have been investigated. FBC produced by cultivating Acetobacter xylinum for 21 days in glucose-based medium were purified by sodium hydroxide 2.5 wt % and sodium hypochlorite 2.5 wt % overnight, consecutively. To obtain water-free BC nanofibres, the pellicles were freeze dried at a pressure of 130 mbar at a cooling rate of 10 °C min(-1). Both Mater-Bi and FBC were blended by using a mini twin-screw extruder at 160 °C for 10 min at a rotor speed of 50 rpm. Tensile tests were performed according to ASTM D638 to measure the Young's modulus, tensile strength and elongation at break. A field emission scanning electron microscope was used to observe the morphology at an accelerating voltage of 10 kV. The crystallinity (T c) and melting temperature (T m) were measured by DSC. Results showed a significant improvement in mechanical and thermal properties in accordance with the addition of FBC into Mater-Bi. FBC is easily incorporated in Mater-Bi matrix and produces homogeneous Mater-Bi/FBC composite. The crystallinity of the Mater-Bi/FBC composites decrease in relation to the increase in the volume fraction of FBC.

  13. Evaluating Models of Cellulose Degradation by Fibrobacter succinogenes S85

    PubMed Central

    Burnet, Meagan C.; Dohnalkova, Alice C.; Neumann, Anthony P.; Lipton, Mary S.; Smith, Richard D.; Suen, Garret; Callister, Stephen J.

    2015-01-01

    Fibrobacter succinogenes S85 is an anaerobic non-cellulosome utilizing cellulolytic bacterium originally isolated from the cow rumen microbial community. Efforts to elucidate its cellulolytic machinery have resulted in the proposal of numerous models which involve cell-surface attachment via a combination of cellulose-binding fibro-slime proteins and pili, the production of cellulolytic vesicles, and the entry of cellulose fibers into the periplasmic space. Here, we used a combination of RNA-sequencing, proteomics, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to further clarify the cellulolytic mechanism of F. succinogenes. Our RNA-sequence analysis shows that genes encoding type II and III secretion systems, fibro-slime proteins, and pili are differentially expressed on cellulose, relative to glucose. A subcellular fractionation of cells grown on cellulose revealed that carbohydrate active enzymes associated with cellulose deconstruction and fibro-slime proteins were greater in the extracellular medium, as compared to the periplasm and outer membrane fractions. TEMs of samples harvested at mid-exponential and stationary phases of growth on cellulose and glucose showed the presence of grooves in the cellulose between the bacterial cells and substrate, suggesting enzymes work extracellularly for cellulose degradation. Membrane vesicles were only observed in stationary phase cultures grown on cellulose. These results provide evidence that F. succinogenes attaches to cellulose fibers using fibro-slime and pili, produces cellulases, such as endoglucanases, that are secreted extracellularly using type II and III secretion systems, and degrades the cellulose into cellodextrins that are then imported back into the periplasm for further digestion by β-glucanases and other cellulases. PMID:26629814

  14. Partial replacement effect of montmorillonite with cellulose nanowhiskers on polylactic acid nanocomposites.

    PubMed

    Arjmandi, Reza; Hassan, Azman; Mohamad Haafiz, M K; Zakaria, Zainoha

    2015-11-01

    In this study, hybrid montmorillonite/cellulose nanowhiskers (MMT/CNW) reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) nanocomposites were produced through solution casting. The CNW filler was first isolated from microcrystalline cellulose by chemical swelling technique. The partial replacement of MMT with CNW in order to produce PLA/MMT/CNW hybrid nanocomposites was performed at 5 parts per hundred parts of polymer (phr) fillers content, based on highest tensile strength values as reported in our previous study. MMT were partially replaced with various amounts of CNW (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5phr). The tensile, thermal, morphological and biodegradability properties of PLA hybrid nanocomposites were investigated. The highest tensile strength of hybrid nanocomposites was obtained with the combination of 4phr MMT and 1phr CNW. Interestingly, the ductility of hybrid nanocomposites increased significantly by 79% at this formulation. The Young's modulus increased linearly with increasing CNW content. Thermogravimetric analysis illustrated that the partial replacement of MMT with CNW filler enhanced the thermal stability of the PLA. This is due to the relatively good dispersion of fillers in the hybrid nanocomposites samples as revealed by transmission electron microscopy. Interestingly, partial replacements of MMT with CNW improved the biodegradability of hybrid nanocomposites compared to PLA/MMT and neat PLA. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. PLLA-grafted cellulose nanocrystals: Role of the CNC content and grafting on the PLA bionanocomposite film properties.

    PubMed

    Lizundia, Erlantz; Fortunati, Elena; Dominici, Franco; Vilas, José Luis; León, Luis Manuel; Armentano, Ilaria; Torre, Luigi; Kenny, Josè M

    2016-05-20

    Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), extracted from microcrystalline cellulose by acid hydrolysis, were grafted by ring opening polymerization of L-Lactide initiated from the hydroxyl groups available at their surface and two different CNC:L-lactide ratios (20:80 and 5:95) were obtained. The resulting CNC-g-PLLA nanohybrids were incorporated in poly(lactic acid) (PLA) matrix by an optimized extrusion process at two different content (1 wt.% and 3 wt.%) and obtained bionanocomposite films were characterized by thermal, mechanical, optical and morphological properties. Thermal analysis showed CNC grafted with the higher ratio of lactide play a significant role as a nucleating agent. Moreover, they contribute to a significant increase in the crystallization rate of PLA, and the best efficiency was revealed with 3 wt.% of CNC-g-PLLA. This effect was confirmed by the increased in Young's modulus, suggesting the CNC graft ratio and content contribute significantly to the good dispersion in the matrix, positively affecting the final bionanocomposite properties. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Direct ethanol production from cellulosic materials by consolidated biological processing using the wood rot fungus Schizophyllum commune.

    PubMed

    Horisawa, Sakae; Ando, Hiromasa; Ariga, Osamu; Sakuma, Yoh

    2015-12-01

    In the present study, ethanol production from polysaccharides or wood chips was conducted in a single reactor under anaerobic conditions using the white rot fungus Schizophyllum commune NBRC 4928, which produces enzymes that degrade lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose. The ethanol yields produced from glucose and xylose were 80.5%, and 52.5%, respectively. The absolute yields of ethanol per microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), xylan and arabinogalactan were 0.26g/g-MCC, 0.0419g/g-xylan and 0.0508g/g-arabinogalactan, respectively. By comparing the actual ethanol yields from polysaccharides with monosaccharide fermentation, it was shown that the rate of saccharification was slower than that in fermentation. S. commune NBRC 4928 is concluded to be suitable for CBP because it can produce ethanol from various types of sugar. From the autoclaved cedar chip, only little ethanol was produced by S. commune NBRC 4928 alone but ethanol production was enhanced by combined use of ethanol fermenting and lignin degrading fungi. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Bacterial cellulose-polyaniline nano-biocomposite: A porous media hydrogel bioanode enhancing the performance of microbial fuel cell

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mashkour, Mehrdad; Rahimnejad, Mostafa; Mashkour, Mahdi

    2016-09-01

    Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are one of the possible renewable energy supplies which microorganisms play an active role in bio-oxidize reactions of a substrate such as glucose. Electrode materials and surface modifications are highly effective tools in enhancing MFCs' Performance. In this study, new composite anodes are fabricated. Bacterial cellulose (BC) is used as continuous phase and polyaniline (PANI) as dispersed one which is synthesized by in situ chemical oxidative polymerization on BC's fibers. With hydrogel nature of BC as a novel feature and polyaniline conductivity there meet the favorable conditions to obtain an active microbial biofilm on anode surface. Maximum power density of 117.76 mW/m2 in current density of 617 mA/m2 is achieved for BC/PANI anode. The amounts demonstrate a considerable enhancement compared with graphite plate (1 mW/m2 and 10 mA/m2).

  18. The microbial ecology of anaerobic cellulose degradation in municipal waste landfill sites: evidence of a role for fibrobacters.

    PubMed

    McDonald, James E; Houghton, James N I; Rooks, David J; Allison, Heather E; McCarthy, Alan J

    2012-04-01

    Cellulose is reputedly the most abundant organic polymer in the biosphere, yet despite the fundamental role of cellulolytic microorganisms in global carbon cycling and as potential sources of novel enzymes for biotechnology, their identity and ecology is not well established. Cellulose is a major component of landfill waste and its degradation is therefore a key feature of the anaerobic microbial decomposition process. Here, we targeted a number of taxa containing known cellulolytic anaerobes (members of the bacterial genus Fibrobacter, lineages of Clostridium clusters I, III, IV and XIV, and anaerobic fungi of the Neocallimastigales) in landfill leachate and colonized cellulose 'baits' via PCR and quantitative PCR (qPCR). Fibrobacter spp. and Clostridium clusters III, IV and XIV were detected in almost all leachate samples and cluster III and XIV clostridia were the most abundant (1-6% and 1-17% of total bacterial 16S rRNA gene copies respectively). Two landfill leachate microcosms were constructed to specifically assess those microbial communities that colonize and degrade cellulose substrates in situ. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of colonized cotton revealed extensive cellulose degradation in one microcosm, and Fibrobacter spp. and Clostridium cluster III represented 29% and 17%, respectively, of total bacterial 16S rRNA gene copies in the biofilm. Visible cellulose degradation was not observed in the second microcosm, and this correlated with negligible relative abundances of Clostridium cluster III and Fibrobacter spp. (≤ 0.1%), providing the first evidence that the novel fibrobacters recently detected in landfill sites and other non-gut environments colonize and degrade cellulose substrates in situ. © 2012 Society for Applied Microbiology and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  19. Establishing a Role for Bacterial Cellulose in Environmental Interactions: Lessons Learned from Diverse Biofilm-Producing Proteobacteria

    PubMed Central

    Augimeri, Richard V.; Varley, Andrew J.; Strap, Janice L.

    2015-01-01

    Bacterial cellulose (BC) serves as a molecular glue to facilitate intra- and inter-domain interactions in nature. Biosynthesis of BC-containing biofilms occurs in a variety of Proteobacteria that inhabit diverse ecological niches. The enzymatic and regulatory systems responsible for the polymerization, exportation, and regulation of BC are equally as diverse. Though the magnitude and environmental consequences of BC production are species-specific, the common role of BC-containing biofilms is to establish close contact with a preferred host to facilitate efficient host–bacteria interactions. Universally, BC aids in attachment, adherence, and subsequent colonization of a substrate. Bi-directional interactions influence host physiology, bacterial physiology, and regulation of BC biosynthesis, primarily through modulation of intracellular bis-(3′→5′)-cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP) levels. Depending on the circumstance, BC producers exhibit a pathogenic or symbiotic relationship with plant, animal, or fungal hosts. Rhizobiaceae species colonize plant roots, Pseudomonadaceae inhabit the phyllosphere, Acetobacteriaceae associate with sugar-loving insects and inhabit the carposphere, Enterobacteriaceae use fresh produce as vehicles to infect animal hosts, and Vibrionaceae, particularly Aliivibrio fischeri, colonize the light organ of squid. This review will highlight the diversity of the biosynthesis and regulation of BC in nature by discussing various examples of Proteobacteria that use BC-containing biofilms to facilitate host–bacteria interactions. Through discussion of current data we will establish new directions for the elucidation of BC biosynthesis, its regulation and its ecophysiological roles. PMID:26635751

  20. Cellulose as an architectural element in spatially structured Escherichia coli biofilms.

    PubMed

    Serra, Diego O; Richter, Anja M; Hengge, Regine

    2013-12-01

    Morphological form in multicellular aggregates emerges from the interplay of genetic constitution and environmental signals. Bacterial macrocolony biofilms, which form intricate three-dimensional structures, such as large and often radially oriented ridges, concentric rings, and elaborate wrinkles, provide a unique opportunity to understand this interplay of "nature and nurture" in morphogenesis at the molecular level. Macrocolony morphology depends on self-produced extracellular matrix components. In Escherichia coli, these are stationary phase-induced amyloid curli fibers and cellulose. While the widely used "domesticated" E. coli K-12 laboratory strains are unable to generate cellulose, we could restore cellulose production and macrocolony morphology of E. coli K-12 strain W3110 by "repairing" a single chromosomal SNP in the bcs operon. Using scanning electron and fluorescence microscopy, cellulose filaments, sheets and nanocomposites with curli fibers were localized in situ at cellular resolution within the physiologically two-layered macrocolony biofilms of this "de-domesticated" strain. As an architectural element, cellulose confers cohesion and elasticity, i.e., tissue-like properties that-together with the cell-encasing curli fiber network and geometrical constraints in a growing colony-explain the formation of long and high ridges and elaborate wrinkles of wild-type macrocolonies. In contrast, a biofilm matrix consisting of the curli fiber network only is brittle and breaks into a pattern of concentric dome-shaped rings separated by deep crevices. These studies now set the stage for clarifying how regulatory networks and in particular c-di-GMP signaling operate in the three-dimensional space of highly structured and "tissue-like" bacterial biofilms.

  1. Short genome report of cellulose-producing commensal Escherichia coli 1094.

    PubMed

    Bernal-Bayard, Joaquin; Gomez-Valero, Laura; Wessel, Aimee; Khanna, Varun; Bouchier, Christiane; Ghigo, Jean-Marc

    2018-01-01

    Bacterial surface colonization and biofilm formation often rely on the production of an extracellular polymeric matrix that mediates cell-cell and cell-surface contacts. In Escherichia coli and many Betaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria cellulose is often the main component of the extracellular matrix. Here we report the complete genome sequence of the cellulose producing strain E. coli 1094 and compare it with five other closely related genomes within E. coli phylogenetic group A. We present a comparative analysis of the regions encoding genes responsible for cellulose biosynthesis and discuss the changes that could have led to the loss of this important adaptive advantage in several E. coli strains. Data deposition: The annotated genome sequence has been deposited at the European Nucleotide Archive under the accession number PRJEB21000.

  2. Mechanisms and kinetics of cellulose fermentation for protein production

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dunlap, C. A.

    1971-01-01

    The development of a process (and ancillary processing and analytical techniques) to produce bacterial single-cell protein of good nutritional quality from waste cellulose is discussed. A fermentation pilot plant and laboratory were developed and have been in operation for about two years. Single-cell protein (SCP) can be produced from sugarcane bagasse--a typical agricultural cellulosic waste. The optimization and understanding of this process and its controlling variables are examined. Both batch and continuous fermentation runs have been made under controlled conditions in the 535 liter pilot plant vessel and in the laboratory 14-liter fermenters.

  3. Organoselenium coating on cellulose inhibits the formation of biofilms by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus.

    PubMed

    Tran, Phat L; Hammond, Adrienne A; Mosley, Thomas; Cortez, Janette; Gray, Tracy; Colmer-Hamood, Jane A; Shashtri, Mayank; Spallholz, Julian E; Hamood, Abdul N; Reid, Ted W

    2009-06-01

    Among the most difficult bacterial infections encountered in treating patients are wound infections, which may occur in burn victims, patients with traumatic wounds, necrotic lesions in people with diabetes, and patients with surgical wounds. Within a wound, infecting bacteria frequently develop biofilms. Many current wound dressings are impregnated with antimicrobial agents, such as silver or antibiotics. Diffusion of the agent(s) from the dressing may damage or destroy nearby healthy tissue as well as compromise the effectiveness of the dressing. In contrast, the antimicrobial agent selenium can be covalently attached to the surfaces of a dressing, prolonging its effectiveness. We examined the effectiveness of an organoselenium coating on cellulose discs in inhibiting Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation. Colony biofilm assays revealed that cellulose discs coated with organoselenium completely inhibited P. aeruginosa and S. aureus biofilm formation. Scanning electron microscopy of the cellulose discs confirmed these results. Additionally, the coating on the cellulose discs was stable and effective after a week of incubation in phosphate-buffered saline. These results demonstrate that 0.2% selenium in a coating on cellulose discs effectively inhibits bacterial attachment and biofilm formation and that, unlike other antimicrobial agents, longer periods of exposure to an aqueous environment do not compromise the effectiveness of the coating.

  4. Evaluating models of cellulose degradation by Fibrobacter succinogenes S85

    DOE PAGES

    Burnet, Meagan C.; Dohnalkova, Alice C.; Neumann, Anthony P.; ...

    2015-12-02

    Fibrobacter succinogenes S85 is an anaerobic non-cellulosome utilizing cellulolytic bacterium originally isolated from the cow rumen microbial community. Efforts to elucidate its cellulolytic machinery have resulted in the proposal of numerous models which involve a combination of cell-surface attachment via a combination of cellulose-binding fibro-slime proteins and pili, the production of cellulolytic vesicles, and the entry of cellulose fibers into the periplasmic space. Here, we used a combination of RNA-sequencing, proteomics, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to further elucidate the cellulolytic mechanism of F. succinogenes. Our RNA-sequence analysis shows that genes encoding Type II and III secretion systems, fibro-slime proteins,more » and pili are differentially expressed on cellulose, relative to glucose. A subcellular fractionation of cells grown on cellulose revealed that carbohydrate active enzymes associated with cellulose deconstruction and fibro-slime proteins were greater in the extracellular media, as compared to the periplasm and outer membrane fractions. TEMs of samples harvested at mid-exponential and stationary phases of growth on cellulose and glucose showed the presence of grooves in the cellulose between the bacterial cells and substrate, suggesting enzymes work extracellularly for cellulose degradation. Membrane vesicles were only observed in stationary phase cultures grown on cellulose. Furthermore, these results provide evidence that F. succinogenes attaches to cellulose fibers using fibro-slime and pili, produces cellulases, such as endoglucanases, that are secreted extracellularly using type II and III secretion systems, and degrades the cellulose into cellodextrins that are then imported back into the periplasm for further digestion by β-glucanases and other cellulases.« less

  5. Multiscale Modulation of Nanocrystalline Cellulose Hydrogel via Nanocarbon Hybridization for 3D Neuronal Bilayer Formation.

    PubMed

    Kim, Dongyoon; Park, Subeom; Jo, Insu; Kim, Seong-Min; Kang, Dong Hee; Cho, Sung-Pyo; Park, Jong Bo; Hong, Byung Hee; Yoon, Myung-Han

    2017-07-01

    Bacterial biopolymers have drawn much attention owing to their unconventional three-dimensional structures and interesting functions, which are closely integrated with bacterial physiology. The nongenetic modulation of bacterial (Acetobacter xylinum) cellulose synthesis via nanocarbon hybridization, and its application to the emulation of layered neuronal tissue, is reported. The controlled dispersion of graphene oxide (GO) nanoflakes into bacterial cellulose (BC) culture media not only induces structural changes within a crystalline cellulose nanofibril, but also modulates their 3D collective association, leading to substantial reduction in Young's modulus (≈50%) and clear definition of water-hydrogel interfaces. Furthermore, real-time investigation of 3D neuronal networks constructed in this GO-incorporated BC hydrogel with broken chiral nematic ordering revealed the vertical locomotion of growth cones, the accelerated neurite outgrowth (≈100 µm per day) with reduced backward travel length, and the efficient formation of synaptic connectivity with distinct axonal bifurcation abundancy at the ≈750 µm outgrowth from a cell body. In comparison with the pristine BC, GO-BC supports the formation of well-defined neuronal bilayer networks with flattened interfacial profiles and vertical axonal outgrowth, apparently emulating the neuronal development in vivo. We envisioned that our findings may contribute to various applications of engineered BC hydrogel to fundamental neurobiology studies and neural engineering. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  6. Cellulose Supplementation Early in Life Ameliorates Colitis in Adult Mice

    PubMed Central

    Nagy-Szakal, Dorottya; Hollister, Emily B.; Luna, Ruth Ann; Szigeti, Reka; Tatevian, Nina; Smith, C. Wayne; Versalovic, James; Kellermayer, Richard

    2013-01-01

    Decreased consumption of dietary fibers, such as cellulose, has been proposed to promote the emergence of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD: Crohn disease [CD] and ulcerative colitis [UC]) where intestinal microbes are recognized to play an etiologic role. However, it is not known if transient fiber consumption during critical developmental periods may prevent consecutive intestinal inflammation. The incidence of IBD peaks in young adulthood indicating that pediatric environmental exposures may be important in the etiology of this disease group. We studied the effects of transient dietary cellulose supplementation on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) colitis susceptibility during the pediatric period in mice. Cellulose supplementation stimulated substantial shifts in the colonic mucosal microbiome. Several bacterial taxa decreased in relative abundance (e.g., Coriobacteriaceae [p = 0.001]), and other taxa increased in abundance (e.g., Peptostreptococcaceae [p = 0.008] and Clostridiaceae [p = 0.048]). Some of these shifts persisted for 10 days following the cessation of cellulose supplementation. The changes in the gut microbiome were associated with transient trophic and anticolitic effects 10 days following the cessation of a cellulose-enriched diet, but these changes diminished by 40 days following reversal to a low cellulose diet. These findings emphasize the transient protective effect of dietary cellulose in the mammalian large bowel and highlight the potential role of dietary fibers in amelioration of intestinal inflammation. PMID:23437211

  7. Effects of alternative energy sources on bacterial cellulose characteristics produced by Komagataeibacter medellinensis.

    PubMed

    Molina-Ramírez, Carlos; Enciso, Carla; Torres-Taborda, Mabel; Zuluaga, Robin; Gañán, Piedad; Rojas, Orlando J; Castro, Cristina

    2018-05-27

    Bacterial cellulose (BC) was produced by Komagataeibacter medellinensis using Hestrin and Schramm modified medium in the presence of alternative energy sources (AES), such as ethanol and acetic acid, to explore the effect of AES on the characteristics and properties of the resulting BC. In this study, the physicochemical and structural characteristics of the obtained BC were determined using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction spectrometry, thermogravimetric analysis, and mechanical testing analysis. Ethanol and acetic acid (at 0.1 wt%) were proven to improve the BC yield by K. medellinensis by 279% and 222%, respectively. However, the crystallinity index (%), the degree of polymerization, and maximum rate of degradation temperatures decreased by 9.2%, 36%, and 4.96%, respectively, by the addition of ethanol and by 7.2%, 27%, and 4.21%, respectively, by the addition of acetic acid. The significance of this work, lies on the fact that there is not any report about how BC properties change when substances like ethanol or acetic acid are added to culture medium, and which is the mechanism that provokes those changes, that in our case we could demonstrate the relationship of a higher BC production rate (provoked by ethanol and acetic acid adding) and changes in BC properties. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Cellulose as an Architectural Element in Spatially Structured Escherichia coli Biofilms

    PubMed Central

    Serra, Diego O.; Richter, Anja M.

    2013-01-01

    Morphological form in multicellular aggregates emerges from the interplay of genetic constitution and environmental signals. Bacterial macrocolony biofilms, which form intricate three-dimensional structures, such as large and often radially oriented ridges, concentric rings, and elaborate wrinkles, provide a unique opportunity to understand this interplay of “nature and nurture” in morphogenesis at the molecular level. Macrocolony morphology depends on self-produced extracellular matrix components. In Escherichia coli, these are stationary phase-induced amyloid curli fibers and cellulose. While the widely used “domesticated” E. coli K-12 laboratory strains are unable to generate cellulose, we could restore cellulose production and macrocolony morphology of E. coli K-12 strain W3110 by “repairing” a single chromosomal SNP in the bcs operon. Using scanning electron and fluorescence microscopy, cellulose filaments, sheets and nanocomposites with curli fibers were localized in situ at cellular resolution within the physiologically two-layered macrocolony biofilms of this “de-domesticated” strain. As an architectural element, cellulose confers cohesion and elasticity, i.e., tissue-like properties that—together with the cell-encasing curli fiber network and geometrical constraints in a growing colony—explain the formation of long and high ridges and elaborate wrinkles of wild-type macrocolonies. In contrast, a biofilm matrix consisting of the curli fiber network only is brittle and breaks into a pattern of concentric dome-shaped rings separated by deep crevices. These studies now set the stage for clarifying how regulatory networks and in particular c-di-GMP signaling operate in the three-dimensional space of highly structured and “tissue-like” bacterial biofilms. PMID:24097954

  9. Novel Piezoelectric Paper‐Based Flexible Nanogenerators Composed of BaTiO3 Nanoparticles and Bacterial Cellulose

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Guangjie; Liao, Qingliang; Zhang, Zheng; Liang, Qijie; Zhao, Yingli; Zheng, Xin

    2015-01-01

    A piezoelectric paper based on BaTiO3 (BTO) nanoparticles and bacterial cellulose (BC) with excellent output properties for application of nanogenerators (NGs) is reported. A facile and scalable vacuum filtration method is used to fabricate the piezoelectric paper. The BTO/BC piezoelectric paper based NG shows outstanding output performance with open‐circuit voltage of 14 V and short‐circuit current density of 190 nA cm−2. The maximum power density generated by this unique BTO/BC structure is more than ten times higher than BTO/polydimethylsiloxane structure. In bending conditions, the NG device can generate output voltage of 1.5 V, which is capable of driving a liquid crystal display screen. The improved performance can be ascribed to homogeneous distribution of piezoelectric BTO nanoparticles in the BC matrix as well as the enhanced stress on piezoelectric nanoparticles implemented by the unique percolated networks of BC nanofibers. The flexible BTO/BC piezoelectric paper based NG is lightweight, eco‐friendly, and cost‐effective, which holds great promises for achieving wearable or implantable energy harvesters and self‐powered electronics. PMID:27774389

  10. Functional Analysis of the Glucan Degradation Locus in Caldicellulosiruptor bescii Reveals Essential Roles of Component Glycoside Hydrolases in Plant Biomass Deconstruction

    PubMed Central

    Conway, Jonathan M.; McKinley, Bennett S.; Seals, Nathaniel L.; Hernandez, Diana; Khatibi, Piyum A.; Poudel, Suresh; Giannone, Richard J.; Hettich, Robert L.; Williams-Rhaesa, Amanda M.; Lipscomb, Gina L.; Adams, Michael W. W.

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT The ability to hydrolyze microcrystalline cellulose is an uncommon feature in the microbial world, but it can be exploited for conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks into biobased fuels and chemicals. Understanding the physiological and biochemical mechanisms by which microorganisms deconstruct cellulosic material is key to achieving this objective. The glucan degradation locus (GDL) in the genomes of extremely thermophilic Caldicellulosiruptor species encodes polysaccharide lyases (PLs), unique cellulose binding proteins (tāpirins), and putative posttranslational modifying enzymes, in addition to multidomain, multifunctional glycoside hydrolases (GHs), thereby representing an alternative paradigm for plant biomass degradation compared to fungal or cellulosomal systems. To examine the individual and collective in vivo roles of the glycolytic enzymes, the six GH genes in the GDL of Caldicellulosiruptor bescii were systematically deleted, and the extents to which the resulting mutant strains could solubilize microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel) and plant biomass (switchgrass or poplar) were examined. Three of the GDL enzymes, Athe_1867 (CelA) (GH9-CBM3-CBM3-CBM3-GH48), Athe_1859 (GH5-CBM3-CBM3-GH44), and Athe_1857 (GH10-CBM3-CBM3-GH48), acted synergistically in vivo and accounted for 92% of naked microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel) degradation. However, the relative importance of the GDL GHs varied for the plant biomass substrates tested. Furthermore, mixed cultures of mutant strains showed that switchgrass solubilization depended on the secretome-bound enzymes collectively produced by the culture, not on the specific strain from which they came. These results demonstrate that certain GDL GHs are primarily responsible for the degradation of microcrystalline cellulose-containing substrates by C. bescii and provide new insights into the workings of a novel microbial mechanism for lignocellulose utilization. IMPORTANCE The efficient and extensive degradation

  11. Bacterial cellulose of Gluconoacetobacter hansenii as a potential bioadsorption agent for its green environment applications.

    PubMed

    Mohite, Bhavna V; Patil, Satish V

    2014-01-01

    Bacterial cellulose (BC) is an interesting biopolymer produced by bacteria having superior properties. BC produced by Gluconoacetobacter hansenii (strain NCIM 2529) under shaking condition and explored for its applications in dye removal and bioadsorption of protein and heavy metals. Purity of BC was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. BC removed azo dye and Aniline blue (400 mg/L) with 80% efficiency within 60 min. The adsorption and elution of Bovine serum albumin (BSA) and heavy metals like lead, cadmium and nickel (Pb(2+), Cd(2+) and Ni(2+)) was achieved with BC which confirms the exclusion ability with reusability. The BSA adsorption quantity was increased with increase in protein concentration with more than 90% adsorption and elution ratio. The effect of pH and temperature on BSA adsorption has been investigated. Bioadsorption (82%) and elution ratio (92%) of BC for Pb(2+) was more when compared with Cd(2+) (41 and 67%) and Ni(2+) (33 and 85%), respectively. BC was also explored as soil conditioner to increase the water-holding capacity and porosity of soil. The results elucidated the significance of BC as renewable effective ecofriendly bioadsorption agent.

  12. Cellulose-pectin composite hydrogels: Intermolecular interactions and material properties depend on order of assembly.

    PubMed

    Lopez-Sanchez, Patricia; Martinez-Sanz, Marta; Bonilla, Mauricio R; Wang, Dongjie; Gilbert, Elliot P; Stokes, Jason R; Gidley, Michael J

    2017-04-15

    Plant cell walls have a unique combination of strength and flexibility however, further investigations are required to understand how those properties arise from the assembly of the relevant biopolymers. Recent studies indicate that Ca 2+ -pectates can act as load-bearing components in cell walls. To investigate this proposed role of pectins, bioinspired wall models were synthesised based on bacterial cellulose containing pectin-calcium gels by varying the order of assembly of cellulose/pectin networks, pectin degree of methylesterification and calcium concentration. Hydrogels in which pectin-calcium assembly occurred prior to cellulose synthesis showed evidence for direct cellulose/pectin interactions from small-angle scattering (SAXS and SANS), had the densest networks and the lowest normal stress. The strength of the pectin-calcium gel affected cellulose structure, crystallinity and material properties. The results highlight the importance of the order of assembly on the properties of cellulose composite networks and support the role of pectin in the mechanics of cell walls. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Grafting of Bacterial Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) onto Cellulose via In Situ Reactive Extrusion with Dicumyl Peroxide

    Treesearch

    Liqing Wei; Armando G. McDonald; Nicole M. Stark

    2015-01-01

    Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) was grafted onto cellulose fiber by dicumyl peroxide (DCP) radical initiation via in situ reactive extrusion. The yield of the grafted (cellulose-g-PHB) copolymer was recorded and grafting efficiency was found to be dependent on the reaction time and DCP concentration. The grafting mechanism was investigated by electron spin...

  14. Cellulose production in Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae: a compromise between epiphytic and pathogenic lifestyles.

    PubMed

    Arrebola, Eva; Carrión, Víctor J; Gutiérrez-Barranquero, José Antonio; Pérez-García, Alejandro; Rodríguez-Palenzuela, Pablo; Cazorla, Francisco M; de Vicente, Antonio

    2015-07-01

    Genome sequencing and annotation have revealed a putative cellulose biosynthetic operon in the strain Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae UMAF0158, the causal agent of bacterial apical necrosis. Bioinformatics analyses and experimental methods were used to confirm the functionality of the cellulose biosynthetic operon. In addition, the results showed the contribution of the cellulose operon to important aspects of P. syringae pv. syringae biology, such as the formation of biofilms and adhesion to the leaf surface of mango, suggesting that this operon increases epiphytic fitness. However, based on the incidence and severity of the symptoms observed in tomato leaflets, cellulose expression reduces virulence, as cellulose-deficient mutants increased the area of necrosis, whereas the cellulose-overproducing strain decreased the area of necrosis compared with the wild type. In conclusion, the results of this study show that the epiphytic and pathogenic stages of the P. syringae pv. syringae UMAF0158 lifestyle are intimately affected by cellulose production. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Integrated ‘omics analysis for studying the microbial community response to a pH perturbation of a cellulose-degrading bioreactor culture

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Boaro, Amy A.; Kim, Young-Mo; Konopka, Allan

    2014-12-01

    Integrated ‘omics have been used on pure cultures and co-cultures, yet they have not been applied to complex microbial communities to examine questions of perturbation response. In this study, we used integrated ‘omics to measure the perturbation response of a cellulose-degrading bioreactor community fed with microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel). We predicted that a pH decrease by addition of a pulse of acid would reduce microbial community diversity and temporarily reduce reactor function such as cellulose degradation. However, 16S rDNA pyrosequencing results revealed increased alpha diversity in the microbial community after the perturbation, and a persistence of the dominant community members overmore » the duration of the experiment. Proteomics results showed a decrease in activity of proteins associated with Fibrobacter succinogenes two days after the perturbation followed by increased protein abundances six days after the perturbation. The decrease in cellulolytic activity suggested by the proteomics was confirmed by the accumulation of Avicel in the reactor. Metabolomics showed a pattern similar to that of the proteome, with amino acid production decreasing two days after the perturbation and increasing after six days. This study demonstrated that community ‘omics data provides valuable information about the interactions and function of anaerobic cellulolytic community members after a perturbation.« less

  16. Effect of hydrolysed cellulose nanowhiskers on properties of montmorillonite/polylactic acid nanocomposites.

    PubMed

    Arjmandi, Reza; Hassan, Azman; Haafiz, M K M; Zakaria, Zainoha; Islam, Md Saiful

    2016-01-01

    Polylactic acid (PLA) nanocomposites reinforced with hybrid montmorillonite/cellulose nanowhiskers [MMT/CNW(SO4)] were prepared by solution casting. The CNW(SO4) nanofiller was first isolated from microcrystalline cellulose using acid hydrolysis treatment. PLA/MMT/CNW(SO4) hybrid nanocomposites were prepared by the addition of various amounts of CNW(SO4) [1-9 parts per hundred parts of polymer (phr)] into PLA/MMT nanocomposite at 5 phr MMT content, based on highest tensile strength values as reported previously. The biodegradability, thermal, tensile, morphological, water absorption and transparency properties of PLA/MMT/CNW(SO4) hybrid nanocomposites were investigated. The Biodegradability, thermal stability and crystallinity of hybrid nanocomposites increased compared to PLA/MMT nanocomposite and neat PLA. The highest tensile strength of hybrid nanocomposites was obtained by incorporating 1 phr CNW(SO4) [∼ 36 MPa]. Interestingly, the ductility of hybrid nanocomposites increased significantly by 87% at this formulation. The Young's modulus increased linearly with increasing CNW(SO4) content. This is due to the relatively good dispersion of nanofillers in the hybrid nanocomposites, as revealed by transmission electron microscopy. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicated the formation of some polar interactions. In addition, water resistance of the hybrid nanocomposites improved and the visual transparency of neat PLA film did not affect by addition of CNW(SO4). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. How does cellulosome composition influence deconstruction of lignocellulosic substrates in Clostridium (Ruminiclostridium) thermocellum DSM 1313?

    PubMed

    Yoav, Shahar; Barak, Yoav; Shamshoum, Melina; Borovok, Ilya; Lamed, Raphael; Dassa, Bareket; Hadar, Yitzhak; Morag, Ely; Bayer, Edward A

    2017-01-01

    Bioethanol production processes involve enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated lignocellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars. Due to the relatively high cost of enzyme production, the development of potent and cost-effective cellulolytic cocktails is critical for increasing the cost-effectiveness of bioethanol production. In this context, the multi-protein cellulolytic complex of Clostridium ( Ruminiclostridium ) thermocellum, the cellulosome, was studied here. C. thermocellum is known to assemble cellulosomes of various subunit (enzyme) compositions, in response to the available carbon source. In the current study, different carbon sources were used, and their influence on both cellulosomal composition and the resultant activity was investigated. Glucose, cellobiose, microcrystalline cellulose, alkaline-pretreated switchgrass, alkaline-pretreated corn stover, and dilute acid-pretreated corn stover were used as sole carbon sources in the growth media of C. thermocellum strain DSM 1313. The purified cellulosomes were compared for their activity on selected cellulosic substrates. Interestingly, cellulosomes derived from cells grown on lignocellulosic biomass showed no advantage in hydrolyzing the original carbon source used for their production. Instead, microcrystalline cellulose- and glucose-derived cellulosomes were equal or superior in their capacity to deconstruct lignocellulosic biomass. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed differential composition of catalytic and structural subunits (scaffoldins) in the different cellulosome samples. The most abundant catalytic subunits in all cellulosome types include Cel48S, Cel9K, Cel9Q, Cel9R, and Cel5G. Microcrystalline cellulose- and glucose-derived cellulosome samples showed higher endoglucanase-to-exoglucanase ratios and higher catalytic subunit-per-scaffoldin ratios compared to lignocellulose-derived cellulosome types. The results reported here highlight the finding that cellulosomes derived from cells grown on glucose

  18. Cellulose Structural Polymorphism in Plant Primary Cell Walls Investigated by High-Field 2D Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy and Density Functional Theory Calculations.

    PubMed

    Wang, Tuo; Yang, Hui; Kubicki, James D; Hong, Mei

    2016-06-13

    The native cellulose of bacterial, algal, and animal origins has been well studied structurally using X-ray and neutron diffraction and solid-state NMR spectroscopy, and is known to consist of varying proportions of two allomorphs, Iα and Iβ, which differ in hydrogen bonding, chain packing, and local conformation. In comparison, cellulose structure in plant primary cell walls is much less understood because plant cellulose has lower crystallinity and extensive interactions with matrix polysaccharides. Here we have combined two-dimensional magic-angle-spinning (MAS) solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (solid-state NMR) spectroscopy at high magnetic fields with density functional theory (DFT) calculations to obtain detailed information about the structural polymorphism and spatial distributions of plant primary-wall cellulose. 2D (13)C-(13)C correlation spectra of uniformly (13)C-labeled cell walls of several model plants resolved seven sets of cellulose chemical shifts. Among these, five sets (denoted a-e) belong to cellulose in the interior of the microfibril while two sets (f and g) can be assigned to surface cellulose. Importantly, most of the interior cellulose (13)C chemical shifts differ significantly from the (13)C chemical shifts of the Iα and Iβ allomorphs, indicating that plant primary-wall cellulose has different conformations, packing, and hydrogen bonding from celluloses of other organisms. 2D (13)C-(13)C correlation experiments with long mixing times and with water polarization transfer revealed the spatial distributions and matrix-polysaccharide interactions of these cellulose structures. Celluloses f and g are well mixed chains on the microfibril surface, celluloses a and b are interior chains that are in molecular contact with the surface chains, while cellulose c resides in the core of the microfibril, outside spin diffusion contact with the surface. Interestingly, cellulose d, whose chemical shifts differ most significantly from those of

  19. Cellulose Structural Polymorphism in Plant Primary Cell Walls Investigated by High-Field 2D Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy and Density Functional Theory Calculations

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Tuo; Yang, Hui; Kubicki, James D.; Hong, Mei

    2017-01-01

    The native cellulose of bacterial, algal, and animal origins has been well studied structurally using X-ray and neutron diffraction and solid-state NMR spectroscopy, and is known to consist of varying proportions of two allomorphs, Iα and Iβ, which differ in hydrogen bonding, chain packing, and local conformation. In comparison, cellulose structure in plant primary cell walls is much less understood because plant cellulose has lower crystallinity and extensive interactions with matrix polysaccharides. Here we have combined two-dimensional magic-angle-spinning (MAS) solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (solid-state NMR) spectroscopy at high magnetic fields with density functional theory (DFT) calculations to obtain detailed information about the structural polymorphism and spatial distributions of plant primary-wall cellulose. 2D 13C-13C correlation spectra of uniformly 13C-labeled cell walls of several model plants resolved seven sets of cellulose chemical shifts. Among these, five sets (denoted a-e) belong to cellulose in the interior of the microfibril while two sets (f and g) can be assigned to surface cellulose. Importantly, most of the interior cellulose 13C chemical shifts differ significantly from the 13C chemical shifts of the Iα and Iβ allomorphs, indicating that plant primary-wall cellulose has different conformations, packing and hydrogen bonding from celluloses of other organisms. 2D 13C-13C correlation experiments with long mixing times and with water polarization transfer revealed the spatial distributions and matrix-polysaccharide interactions of these cellulose structures. Cellulose f and g are well mixed chains on the microfibril surface, cellulose a and b are interior chains that are in molecular contact with the surface chains, while cellulose c resides in the core of the microfibril, outside spin diffusion contact with the surface. Interestingly, cellulose d, whose chemical shifts differ most significantly from those of bacterial, algal

  20. The Disulfide Bonding System Suppresses CsgD-Independent Cellulose Production in Escherichia coli

    PubMed Central

    Hufnagel, David A.; DePas, William H.

    2014-01-01

    The bacterial extracellular matrix encases cells and protects them from host-related and environmental insults. The Escherichia coli master biofilm regulator CsgD is required for the production of the matrix components curli and cellulose. CsgD activates the diguanylate cyclase AdrA, which in turn stimulates cellulose production through cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP). Here, we identified and characterized a CsgD- and AdrA-independent cellulose production pathway that was maximally active when cultures were grown under reducing conditions or when the disulfide bonding system (DSB) was compromised. The CsgD-independent cellulose activation pathway was dependent on a second diguanylate cyclase, called YfiN. c-di-GMP production by YfiN was repressed by the periplasmic protein YfiR, and deletion of yfiR promoted CsgD-independent cellulose production. Conversely, when YfiR was overexpressed, cellulose production was decreased. Finally, we found that YfiR was oxidized by DsbA and that intraprotein YfiR disulfide bonds stabilized YfiR in the periplasm. Altogether, we showed that reducing conditions and mutations in the DSB system caused hyperactivation of YfiN and subsequent CsgD-independent cellulose production. PMID:25112475

  1. Specific spice modeling of microcrystalline silicon TFTs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moustapha, O.; Bui, V. D.; Bonnassieux, Y.; Parey, J. Y.

    2008-03-01

    In this paper we present a specific spice static and dynamic model of microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si) thin film transistors (TFTs) taking into account the access resistances and the capacitors contributions. The previously existing models of amorphous silicon and polysilicon TFTs were not completely suited, so we combined them to build a new specific model of μc-Si TFTs. The reliability of the model is then checked by the comparison of experimental measurements to simulations and by simulating the characteristics of some electronic devices (OLED pixels, inverters, and so on).

  2. Cellulose binding domain assisted immobilization of lipase (GSlip-CBD) onto cellulosic nanogel: characterization and application in organic medium.

    PubMed

    Kumar, Ashok; Zhang, Shaowei; Wu, Gaobing; Wu, Cheng Chao; Chen, JunPeng; Baskaran, R; Liu, Ziduo

    2015-12-01

    A cbd gene was cloned into the C-terminal region of a lip gene from Geobacillus stearothermophilus. The native lipase (43.5 kDa) and CBD-Lip fusion protein (60.2 kDa) were purified to homogeneity by SDS-PAGE. A highly stable cellulosic nanogel was prepared by controlled hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose onto which the CBD-lip fusion protein was immobilized through bio-affinity based binding. The nanogel-bound lipase showed optimum activity at 55 °C, and it remains stable and active at pH 10-10.5. Furthermore, the immobilized lipase showed an over two-fold increase of relative activity in the presence of DMSO, isopropanol, isoamyl alcohol and n-butanol, but a mild activity decrease at a low concentration of methanol and ethanol. The immobilized biocatalyst retained ~50% activity after eight repetitive hydrolytic cycles. Enzyme kinetic studies of the immobilized lipase showed a 1.24 fold increase in Vmax and 5.25 fold increase in kcat towards p-NPP hydrolysis. Additionally, the nanogel bound lipase was tested to synthesize a biodiesel ester, ethyl oleate in DMSO. Kinetic analysis showed the km 100.5 ± 4.3 mmol and Vmax 0.19 ± 0.015 mmolmin(-1) at varied oleic acid concentration. Also, the values of km and Vmax at varying concentration of ethanol were observed to be 95.9 ± 13.9 mmol and 0.22 ± 0.013 mmolmin(-1) respectively. The maximum yield of ethyl oleate 111.2 ± 1.24 mM was obtained under optimized reaction conditions in organic medium. These results suggest that this immobilized biocatalyst can be used as an efficient tool for the biotransformation reactions on an industrial scale. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Real-time optotracing of curli and cellulose in live Salmonella biofilms using luminescent oligothiophenes.

    PubMed

    Choong, Ferdinand X; Bäck, Marcus; Fahlén, Sara; Johansson, Leif Bg; Melican, Keira; Rhen, Mikael; Nilsson, K Peter R; Richter-Dahlfors, Agneta

    2016-01-01

    Extracellular matrix (ECM) is the protein- and polysaccharide-rich backbone of bacterial biofilms that provides a defensive barrier in clinical, environmental and industrial settings. Understanding the dynamics of biofilm formation in native environments has been hindered by a lack of research tools. Here we report a method for simultaneous, real-time, in situ detection and differentiation of the Salmonella ECM components curli and cellulose, using non-toxic, luminescent conjugated oligothiophenes (LCOs). These flexible conjugated polymers emit a conformation-dependent fluorescence spectrum, which we use to kinetically define extracellular appearance of curli fibres and cellulose polysaccharides during bacterial growth. The scope of this technique is demonstrated by defining biofilm morphotypes of Salmonella enterica serovars Enteritidis and Typhimurium, and their isogenic mutants in liquid culture and on solid media, and by visualising the ECM components in native biofilms. Our reported use of LCOs across a number of platforms, including intracellular cellulose production in eukaryotic cells and in infected tissues, demonstrates the versatility of this optotracing technology, and its ability to redefine biofilm research.

  4. Real-time optotracing of curli and cellulose in live Salmonella biofilms using luminescent oligothiophenes

    PubMed Central

    Choong, Ferdinand X; Bäck, Marcus; Fahlén, Sara; Johansson, Leif BG; Melican, Keira; Rhen, Mikael; Nilsson, K Peter R; Richter-Dahlfors, Agneta

    2016-01-01

    Extracellular matrix (ECM) is the protein- and polysaccharide-rich backbone of bacterial biofilms that provides a defensive barrier in clinical, environmental and industrial settings. Understanding the dynamics of biofilm formation in native environments has been hindered by a lack of research tools. Here we report a method for simultaneous, real-time, in situ detection and differentiation of the Salmonella ECM components curli and cellulose, using non-toxic, luminescent conjugated oligothiophenes (LCOs). These flexible conjugated polymers emit a conformation-dependent fluorescence spectrum, which we use to kinetically define extracellular appearance of curli fibres and cellulose polysaccharides during bacterial growth. The scope of this technique is demonstrated by defining biofilm morphotypes of Salmonella enterica serovars Enteritidis and Typhimurium, and their isogenic mutants in liquid culture and on solid media, and by visualising the ECM components in native biofilms. Our reported use of LCOs across a number of platforms, including intracellular cellulose production in eukaryotic cells and in infected tissues, demonstrates the versatility of this optotracing technology, and its ability to redefine biofilm research. PMID:28721253

  5. Understanding the amorphous-to-microcrystalline silicon transition in SiF{sub 4}/H{sub 2}/Ar gas mixtures

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dornstetter, Jean-Christophe; LPICM-CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau; Bruneau, Bastien

    2014-06-21

    We report on the growth of microcrystalline silicon films from the dissociation of SiF{sub 4}/H{sub 2}/Ar gas mixtures. For this growth chemistry, the formation of HF molecules provides a clear signature of the amorphous to microcrystalline growth transition. Depositing films from silicon tetrafluoride requires the removal of F produced by SiF{sub 4} dissociation, and this removal is promoted by the addition of H{sub 2} which strongly reacts with F to form HF molecules. At low H{sub 2} flow rates, the films grow amorphous as all the available hydrogen is consumed to form HF. Above a critical flow rate, corresponding tomore » the full removal of F, microcrystalline films are produced as there is an excess of atomic hydrogen in the plasma. A simple yet accurate phenomenological model is proposed to explain the SiF{sub 4}/H{sub 2} plasma chemistry in accordance with experimental data. This model provides some rules of thumb to achieve high deposition rates for microcrystalline silicon, namely, that increased RF power must be balanced by an increased H{sub 2} flow rate.« less

  6. Cellulose nanocrystals as templates for cetyltrimethylammonium bromide mediated synthesis of Ag nanoparticles and their novel use in PLA films.

    PubMed

    Yalcinkaya, E E; Puglia, D; Fortunati, E; Bertoglio, F; Bruni, G; Visai, L; Kenny, J M

    2017-02-10

    In the present paper, we reported how cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) from microcrystalline cellulose have the capacity to assist in the synthesis of metallic nanoparticles chains. A cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), was used as modifier for CNC surface. Silver nanoparticles were synthesized on CNC, and nanoparticle density and size were optimized by varying concentrations of nitrate and reducing agents, and the reduction time. The experimental conditions were optimized for the synthesis and the resulting Ag grafted CNC (Ag-g-CNC) were characterized by means of TGA, SEM, FTIR and XRD, and then introduced in PLA matrix. PLA nanocomposite containing silver grafted cellulose nanocrystals (PLA/0.5Ag-g-1CNC) was characterized by optical and thermal analyses and the obtained data were compared with results from PLA nanocomposites containing 1% wt. of CNC (PLA/1CNC), 0.5% wt. of silver nanoparticles (PLA/0.5Ag) and hybrid system containing CNC and silver in the same amount (PLA/1CNC/0.5Ag). The results demonstrated that grafting of silver nanoparticles on CNC positively affected the thermal degradation process and cold crystallization processes of PLA matrix. Finally, the antibacterial activity of the different systems was studied at various incubation times and temperatures, showing the best performance for PLA/1CNC/0.5Ag based nanocomposite. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Rheological performance of bacterial cellulose based nonmineralized and mineralized hydrogel scaffolds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Basu, Probal; Saha, Nabanita; Bandyopadhyay, Smarak; Saha, Petr

    2017-05-01

    Bacterial cellulose (BC) based hydrogels (BC-PVP and BC-CMC) are modified with β-tri-calcium phosphate (β-TCP) and hydroxyapatite (HA) to improve the structural and functional properties of the existing hydrogel scaffolds. The modified hydrogels are then biomineralized with CaCO3 following liquid diffusion technique, where salt solutions of Na2CO3 (5.25 g/100 mL) and CaCl2 (7.35 g/100 mL) were involved. The BC-PVP and BC-CMC are being compared with the non-mineralized (BC-PVP-β-TCP/HA and BC-CMC-β-TCP/HA) and biomineralized (BC-PVP-β-TCP/HA-CaCO3 and BC-CMC-β-TCP/HA-CaCO3) hydrogels on the basis of their structural and rheological properties. The Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectral analysis demonstrated the presence of BC, CMC, PVP, β-TCP, HA in the non-mineralized and BC, CMC, PVP, β-TCP, HA and CaCO3 in the biomineralized samples. Interestingly, the morphological property of non-mineralized and biomineralized, hydrogels are different than that of BC-PVP and BC-CMC based novel biomaterials. The Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM) images of the before mentioned samples reveal the denser structures than BC-PVP and BC-CMC, which exhibits the changes in their pore sizes. Concerning rheological analysis point of view, all the non-mineralized and biomineralized hydrogel scaffolds have shown significant elastic property. Additionally, the complex viscosity (η*) values have also found in decreasing order with the increase of angular frequency (ω) 0.1 rad.sec-1 to 100 rad.sec-1. All these BC based hydrogel scaffolds are elastic in nature, can be recommended for their application as an implant for bone tissue engineering.

  8. Eco-friendly biorefractory films of gelatin and TEMPO-oxidized cellulose ester for food packaging application.

    PubMed

    Zhuang, Chen; Tao, Furong; Cui, Yuezhi

    2017-08-01

    In recent years, many types of food-packaging films and composites have been prepared using gelatin because of its good film-forming ability, non-toxic nature and cost-effectiveness. However, the relatively weak thermal stability, poor mechanical properties and easily-degradable quality limit the potential application of gelatin as a practical material. Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), which comprises one of the most abundant biomass resources, has been regarded as a safe and reliable food additive because it has the same ingredients as the cellulose in people's daily intake. Food-packaging films with the excellent properties provided by gelatin and oxidized-cellulose represent a topic of great interest. MCC was modified by 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO)-mediated oxidation and chosen as the base of the macromolecule cross-linker (TMN). After modification of gelatin film by TMN, the minimum amount of free -NH 2 in solution was 4.8 × 10 -4  mol g -1 ). The thermal property obviously increased (from 322.31  o C to 352.63  o C) and was crucial for usage in the food industry. The highest water contact value 123.09° (η = 25%) indicated a better surface hydrophobicity. The higher E ab (58.88%) and lower E m (77.16%) demonstrated that a more flexible and shatter-proof material was obtained. Water vapor uptake studies suggested increased moisture absorption and greater swelling ability. The film material obtained in the present study was safe, stable, eco-friendly and biorefractory and could also be decomposed completely by the environment after disposal as a result of the properties of the ingredients gelatin and cellulose. The incorporation of a cellulosic cross-linker to gelatin-based films was an ideal choice with respect to developing a packaging for the food industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  9. Statistical optimization of culture conditions for bacterial cellulose production using Box-Behnken design.

    PubMed

    Bae, Sangok; Shoda, Makoto

    2005-04-05

    Culture conditions in a jar fermentor for bacterial cellulose (BC) production from A. xylinum BPR2001 were optimized by statistical analysis using Box-Behnken design. Response surface methodology was used to predict the levels of the factors, fructose (X1), corn steep liquor (CSL) (X2), dissolved oxygen (DO) (X3), and agar concentration (X4). Total 27 experimental runs by combination of each factor were carried out in a 10-L jar fermentor, and a three-dimensional response surface was generated to determine the effect of the factors and to find out the optimum concentration of each factor for maximum BC production and BC yield. The fructose and agar concentration highly influenced the BC production and BC yield. However, the optimum conditions according to changes in CSL and DO concentrations were predicted at almost central values of tested ranges. The predicted results showed that BC production was 14.3 g/L under the condition of 4.99% fructose, 2.85% CSL, 28.33% DO, and 0.38% agar concentration. On the other hand, BC yield was predicted in 0.34 g/g under the condition of 3.63% fructose, 2.90% CSL, 31.14% DO, and 0.42% agar concentration. Under optimized culture conditions, improvement of BC production and BC yield were experimentally confirmed, which increased 76% and 57%, respectively, compared to BC production and BC yield before optimizing the culture conditions. Copyright (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. Diversity of Hindgut Bacterial Population in Subterranean Termite, Reticulitermes flavipes

    Treesearch

    Olanrewaju Raji; Dragica Jeremic-Nikolic; Juliet D. Tang

    2017-01-01

    The termite hindgut contains a bacterial community that symbiotically aids in digestion of cellulosic materials. For this paper, a species survey of bacterial hindgut symbionts in termites collected from Saucier, Mississippi was examined. Two methods were tested for optimal genetic material isolation. Genomic DNA was isolated from the hindgut luminal contents of five...

  11. Fungal-type carbohydrate binding modules from the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi show binding affinity to cellulose and chitin

    PubMed Central

    Rooijakkers, Bart J. M.

    2018-01-01

    Six fungal-type cellulose binding domains were found in the genome of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi and cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. Sequence comparison indicate high similarity to fungal cellulose binding domains, raising the question of why these domains exist in coccolithophores. The proteins were tested for binding with cellulose and chitin as ligands, which resulted in the identification of two functional carbohydrate binding modules: EHUX2 and EHUX4. Compared to benchmark fungal cellulose binding domain Cel7A-CBM1 from Trichoderma reesei, these proteins showed slightly lower binding to birch and bacterial cellulose, but were more efficient chitin binders. Finally, a set of cellulose binding domains was created based on the shuffling of one well-functioning and one non-functional domain. These were characterized in order to get more information of the binding domain’s sequence–function relationship, indicating characteristic differences between the molecular basis of cellulose versus chitin recognition. As previous reports have showed the presence of cellulose in coccoliths and here we find functional cellulose binding modules, a possible connection is discussed. PMID:29782536

  12. Fungal-type carbohydrate binding modules from the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi show binding affinity to cellulose and chitin.

    PubMed

    Rooijakkers, Bart J M; Ikonen, Martina S; Linder, Markus B

    2018-01-01

    Six fungal-type cellulose binding domains were found in the genome of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi and cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. Sequence comparison indicate high similarity to fungal cellulose binding domains, raising the question of why these domains exist in coccolithophores. The proteins were tested for binding with cellulose and chitin as ligands, which resulted in the identification of two functional carbohydrate binding modules: EHUX2 and EHUX4. Compared to benchmark fungal cellulose binding domain Cel7A-CBM1 from Trichoderma reesei, these proteins showed slightly lower binding to birch and bacterial cellulose, but were more efficient chitin binders. Finally, a set of cellulose binding domains was created based on the shuffling of one well-functioning and one non-functional domain. These were characterized in order to get more information of the binding domain's sequence-function relationship, indicating characteristic differences between the molecular basis of cellulose versus chitin recognition. As previous reports have showed the presence of cellulose in coccoliths and here we find functional cellulose binding modules, a possible connection is discussed.

  13. Bacterial-cellulose-derived interconnected meso-microporous carbon nanofiber networks as binder-free electrodes for high-performance supercapacitors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hao, Xiaodong; Wang, Jie; Ding, Bing; Wang, Ya; Chang, Zhi; Dou, Hui; Zhang, Xiaogang

    2017-06-01

    Bacterial cellulose (BC), a typical biomass prepared from the microbial fermentation process, has been proved that it can be an ideal platform for design of three-dimensional (3D) multifunctional nanomaterials in energy storage and conversion field. Here we developed a simple and general silica-assisted strategy for fabrication of interconnected 3D meso-microporous carbon nanofiber networks by confine nanospace pyrolysis of sustainable BC, which can be used as binder-free electrodes for high-performance supercapacitors. The synthesized carbon nanofibers exhibited the features of interconnected 3D networks architecture, large surface area (624 m2 g-1), mesopores-dominated hierarchical porosity, and high graphitization degree. The as-prepared electrode (CN-BC) displayed a maximum specific capacitance of 302 F g-1 at a current density of 0.5 A g-1, high-rate capability and good cyclicity in 6 M KOH electrolyte. This work, together with cost-effective preparation strategy to make high-value utilization of cheap biomass, should have significant implications in the green and mass-producible energy storage.

  14. Multisubstrate Isotope Labeling and Metagenomic Analysis of Active Soil Bacterial Communities

    PubMed Central

    Verastegui, Y.; Cheng, J.; Engel, K.; Kolczynski, D.; Mortimer, S.; Lavigne, J.; Montalibet, J.; Romantsov, T.; Hall, M.; McConkey, B. J.; Rose, D. R.; Tomashek, J. J.; Scott, B. R.

    2014-01-01

    ABSTRACT Soil microbial diversity represents the largest global reservoir of novel microorganisms and enzymes. In this study, we coupled functional metagenomics and DNA stable-isotope probing (DNA-SIP) using multiple plant-derived carbon substrates and diverse soils to characterize active soil bacterial communities and their glycoside hydrolase genes, which have value for industrial applications. We incubated samples from three disparate Canadian soils (tundra, temperate rainforest, and agricultural) with five native carbon (12C) or stable-isotope-labeled (13C) carbohydrates (glucose, cellobiose, xylose, arabinose, and cellulose). Indicator species analysis revealed high specificity and fidelity for many uncultured and unclassified bacterial taxa in the heavy DNA for all soils and substrates. Among characterized taxa, Actinomycetales (Salinibacterium), Rhizobiales (Devosia), Rhodospirillales (Telmatospirillum), and Caulobacterales (Phenylobacterium and Asticcacaulis) were bacterial indicator species for the heavy substrates and soils tested. Both Actinomycetales and Caulobacterales (Phenylobacterium) were associated with metabolism of cellulose, and Alphaproteobacteria were associated with the metabolism of arabinose; members of the order Rhizobiales were strongly associated with the metabolism of xylose. Annotated metagenomic data suggested diverse glycoside hydrolase gene representation within the pooled heavy DNA. By screening 2,876 cloned fragments derived from the 13C-labeled DNA isolated from soils incubated with cellulose, we demonstrate the power of combining DNA-SIP, multiple-displacement amplification (MDA), and functional metagenomics by efficiently isolating multiple clones with activity on carboxymethyl cellulose and fluorogenic proxy substrates for carbohydrate-active enzymes. PMID:25028422

  15. A CsgD-independent pathway for cellulose production and biofilm formation in Escherichia coli.

    PubMed

    Da Re, Sandra; Ghigo, Jean-Marc

    2006-04-01

    Bacterial growth on a surface often involves the production of a polysaccharide-rich extracellular matrix that provides structural support for the formation of biofilm communities. In Salmonella, cellulose is one of the major constituents of the biofilm matrix. Its production is regulated by CsgD and the diguanylate cyclase AdrA that activates cellulose synthesis at a posttranscriptional level. Here, we studied a collection of Escherichia coli isolates, and we found that the ability to produce cellulose is a common trait shared by more than 50% of the tested strains. We investigated the genetic determinants of cellulose production and its role in biofilm formation in the commensal strain E. coli 1094. By contrast with the Salmonella cellulose regulatory cascade, neither CsgD nor AdrA is required in E. coli 1094 to regulate cellulose production. In this strain, an alternative cellulose regulatory pathway is used, which involves the GGDEF domain protein, YedQ. Although AdrA(1094) is functional, it is weakly expressed in E. coli 1094 compared to YedQ, which constitutively activates cellulose production under all tested environmental conditions. The study of cellulose regulation in several other E. coli isolates showed that, besides the CsgD/AdrA regulatory pathway, both CsgD-independent/YedQ-dependent and CsgD-independent/YedQ-independent pathways are found, indicating that alternative cellulose pathways are common in E. coli and possibly in other cellulose-producing Enterobacteriaceae.

  16. Bacterial cellulose composites: Synthetic strategies and multiple applications in bio-medical and electro-conductive fields.

    PubMed

    Ul-Islam, Mazhar; Khan, Shaukat; Ullah, Muhammad Wajid; Park, Joong Kon

    2015-12-01

    Bacterial cellulose (BC), owing to its pure nature and impressive physicochemical properties, including high mechanical strength, crystallinity, porous fibrous structure, and liquid absorbing capabilities, has emerged as an advanced biomaterial. To match the market demand and economic values, BC has been produced through a number of synthetic routes, leading to slightly different structural features and physical appearance. Chemical nature, porous geometry, and 3D fibrous structure of BC make it an ideal material for composites synthesis that successfully overcome certain deficiencies of pure BC. In this review, we have focused various strategies developed for synthesizing BC and BC composites. Reinforcement materials including nanoparticles and polymers have enhanced the antimicrobial, conducting, magnetic, biocompatible, and mechanical properties of BC. Both pure BC and its composites have shown impressive applications in medical fields and in the development of optoelectronic devices. Herein, we have given a special attention to discuss its applications in the medical and electronic fields. In conclusion, BC and BC composites have realistic potential to be used in future development of medical devices, artificial organs and electronic and conducting materials. The contents discussed herein will provide an eye-catching theme to the researchers concerned with practical applications of BC and BC composites. Copyright © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  17. Flexible magnetic membranes based on bacterial cellulose and its evaluation as electromagnetic interference shielding material.

    PubMed

    Marins, Jéssica A; Soares, Bluma G; Barud, Hernane S; Ribeiro, Sidney J L

    2013-10-01

    Flexible magnetic membranes with high proportion of magnetite were successfully prepared by previous impregnation of the never dried bacterial cellulose pellicles with ferric chloride followed by reduction with sodium bisulfite and alkaline treatment for magnetite precipitation. Membranes were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrating magnetometer, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM) and impedance spectroscopy. Microwave properties of these membranes were investigated in the X-band (8.2 to 12.4 GHz). FEG-SEM micrographs show an effective coverage of the BC nanofibers by Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Membranes with up to 75% in weight of particles have been prepared after 60 min of reaction. Magnetite nanoparticles in the form of aggregates well adhered to the BC fibers were observed by SEM. The average crystal sizes of the magnetic particles were in the range of 10±1 to 13±1 nm (estimated by XRD). The magnetic particles in the BC pellicles presented superparamagnetic behavior with a saturation magnetization in the range of 60 emu g(-1) and coercive force around 15 Oe. These magnetic pellicles also displayed high electrical permittivity and a potential application as microwave absorber materials. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. The mechanism of formation of Cellulose-like microfibrils in a cell-free system from Acetobacter xylinum.

    PubMed

    Colvin, J R

    1980-07-01

    The mechanism of formation of cellulose-like microfibrils by a non-soluble, particulate enzyme and uridine diphosphoglucose (UDPG) in a cell-free system from Acetobacter xylinum was studied by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The suspension of particles to which the enzyme is adsorbed is composed of whole, dense ovoids, 50-250 nm long when wet, of fragments of the ovoids, and amorphous substance. There is a typical unit membrane around each ovoid but initially there is no trace of fibrillar material in the suspension. When the suspension of particles is incubated with UDPG, linear wisps of fibrils are produced which associate rapidly to form longer and wider threads, especially in 0.01 M NaCl. There is no visible attachment of the wisps to the particles. After 20 min incubation, threads with the typical morphology of cellulose microfibrils are formed that later tend to become entangled in clumps. The microfibrils are insoluble in hot, aqueous, alkaline solutions and resistant to the action of trypsin, but may be degraded by glusulase. After treatment with 1 M NaOH at 100° C or with cold 18% NaOH they show an X-ray diffraction pattern which resembles that of Cellulose II from mercerized, authentic bacterial cellulose. Incorporation of radioactive glucose into the insoluble residue is enhanced by drying of the cellulose microfibrils before alkaline digestion and especially by the addition of a gross excess of carrier cellulose after incubation. In this system there is no evidence for participation of linear, axial, synthesizing sites on the cell wall of the bacterium or for ordered, organized granules in the assembly of the microfibrils. That is, cellulose-like microfibrils may be formed in a cell-free system without the action of any of the previously suggested cell organelles. In addition, these observations are consistent with a previously described notion of a transient, hydrated, nascent, bacterial cellulose microfibril. The possibility

  19. Electrospinning cellulose based nanofibers for sensor applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nartker, Steven

    2009-12-01

    Bacterial pathogens have recently become a serious threat to the food and water supply. A biosensor based on an electrochemical immunoassay has been developed for detecting food borne pathogens, such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7. These sensors consist of several materials including, cellulose, cellulose nitrate, polyaniline and glass fibers. The current sensors have not been optimized in terms of microscale architecture and materials. The major problem associated with the current sensors is the limited concentration range of pathogens that provides a linear response on the concentration conductivity chart. Electrospinning is a process that can be used to create a patterned fiber mat design that will increase the linear range and lower the detection limit of these sensors by improving the microscale architecture. Using the electrospinning process to produce novel mats of cellulose nitrate will offer improved surface area, and the cellulose nitrate can be treated to further improve chemical interactions required for sensor activity. The macro and micro architecture of the sensor is critical to the performance of the sensors. Electrospinning technology can be used to create patterned architectures of nanofibers that will enhance sensor performance. To date electrospinning of cellulose nitrate has not been performed and optimization of the electrospinning process will provide novel materials suitable for applications such as filtration and sensing. The goal of this research is to identify and elucidate the primary materials and process factors necessary to produce cellulose nitrate nanofibers using the electrospinning process that will improve the performance of biosensors. Cellulose nitrate is readily dissolved in common organic solvents such as acetone, tetrahydrofuran (THF) and N,N dimethylformamide (DMF). These solvents can be mixed with other latent solvents such as ethanol and other alcohols to provide a solvent system with good electrospinning behavior

  20. The disulfide bonding system suppresses CsgD-independent cellulose production in Escherichia coli.

    PubMed

    Hufnagel, David A; DePas, William H; Chapman, Matthew R

    2014-11-01

    The bacterial extracellular matrix encases cells and protects them from host-related and environmental insults. The Escherichia coli master biofilm regulator CsgD is required for the production of the matrix components curli and cellulose. CsgD activates the diguanylate cyclase AdrA, which in turn stimulates cellulose production through cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP). Here, we identified and characterized a CsgD- and AdrA-independent cellulose production pathway that was maximally active when cultures were grown under reducing conditions or when the disulfide bonding system (DSB) was compromised. The CsgD-independent cellulose activation pathway was dependent on a second diguanylate cyclase, called YfiN. c-di-GMP production by YfiN was repressed by the periplasmic protein YfiR, and deletion of yfiR promoted CsgD-independent cellulose production. Conversely, when YfiR was overexpressed, cellulose production was decreased. Finally, we found that YfiR was oxidized by DsbA and that intraprotein YfiR disulfide bonds stabilized YfiR in the periplasm. Altogether, we showed that reducing conditions and mutations in the DSB system caused hyperactivation of YfiN and subsequent CsgD-independent cellulose production. Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  1. Quantitative analysis of cellulose degradation and growth of cellulolytic bacteria in the rumen.

    PubMed

    Russell, James B; Muck, Richard E; Weimer, Paul J

    2009-02-01

    Ruminant animals digest cellulose via a symbiotic relationship with ruminal microorganisms. Because feedstuffs only remain in the rumen for a short time, the rate of cellulose digestion must be very rapid. This speed is facilitated by rumination, a process that returns food to the mouth to be rechewed. By decreasing particle size, the cellulose surface area can be increased by up to 10(6)-fold. The amount of cellulose digested is then a function of two competing rates, namely the digestion rate (K(d)) and the rate of passage of solids from the rumen (K(p)). Estimation of bacterial growth on cellulose is complicated by several factors: (1) energy must be expended for maintenance and growth of the cells, (2) only adherent cells are capable of degrading cellulose and (3) adherent cells can provide nonadherent cells with cellodextrins. Additionally, when ruminants are fed large amounts of cereal grain along with fiber, ruminal pH can decrease to a point where cellulolytic bacteria no longer grow. A dynamic model based on STELLA software is presented. This model evaluates all of the major aspects of ruminal cellulose degradation: (1) ingestion, digestion and passage of feed particles, (2) maintenance and growth of cellulolytic bacteria and (3) pH effects.

  2. DOPI and PALM imaging of single carbohydrate binding modules bound to cellulose nanocrystals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dagel, D. J.; Liu, Y.-S.; Zhong, L.; Luo, Y.; Zeng, Y.; Himmel, M.; Ding, S.-Y.; Smith, S.

    2011-03-01

    We use single molecule imaging methods to study the binding characteristics of carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs) to cellulose crystals. The CBMs are carbohydrate specific binding proteins, and a functional component of most cellulase enzymes, which in turn hydrolyze cellulose, releasing simple sugars suitable for fermentation to biofuels. The CBM plays the important role of locating the crystalline face of cellulose, a critical step in cellulase action. A biophysical understanding of the CBM action aids in developing a mechanistic picture of the cellulase enzyme, important for selection and potential modification. Towards this end, we have genetically modified cellulose-binding CBM derived from bacterial source with green fluorescent protein (GFP), and photo-activated fluorescence protein PAmCherry tags, respectively. Using the single molecule method known as Defocused Orientation and Position Imaging (DOPI), we observe a preferred orientation of the CBM-GFP complex relative to the Valonia cellulose nanocrystals. Subsequent analysis showed the CBMs bind to the opposite hydrophobic <110> faces of the cellulose nanocrystals with a welldefined cross-orientation of about { 70°. Photo Activated Localization Microscopy (PALM) is used to localize CBMPAmCherry with a localization accuracy of { 10nm. Analysis of the nearest neighbor distributions along and perpendicular to the cellulose nanocrystal axes are consistent with single-file CBM binding along the fiber axis, and microfibril bundles consisting of close packed { 20nm or smaller cellulose microfibrils.

  3. Molar mass characterization of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose by SEC-MALLS.

    PubMed

    Shakun, Maryia; Maier, Helena; Heinze, Thomas; Kilz, Peter; Radke, Wolfgang

    2013-06-05

    Two series of sodium carboxymethyl celluloses (NaCMCs) derived from microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel samples) and cotton linters (BWL samples) with average degrees of substitution (DS) ranging from DS=0.45 to DS=1.55 were characterized by size exclusion chromatography with multi-angle laser light scattering detection (SEC-MALLS) in 100 mmol/L aqueous ammonium acetate (NH4OAc) as vaporizable eluent system. The application of vaporizable NH4OAc allows future use of the eluent system in two-dimensional separations employing evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD). The losses of samples during filtration and during the chromatographic experiment were determined. The scaling exponent as of the relation [Formula: see text] was approx. 0.61, showing that NaCMCs exhibit an expanded coil conformation in solution. No systematic dependencies of as on DS were observed. The dependences of molar mass on SEC-elution volume for samples of different DS can be well described by a common calibration curve, which is of advantage, as it allows the determination of molar masses of unknown samples by using the same calibration curve, irrespective of the DS of the NaCMC sample. Since no commercial NaCMC standards are available, correction factors were determined allowing converting a pullulan based calibration curve into a NaCMC calibration using the broad calibration approach. The weight average molar masses derived using the so established calibration curve closely agree with the ones determined by light scattering, proving the accuracy of the correction factors determined. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Odelson, D.A.; Breznak, J.A.

    Crude extracts of the anaerobic, cellulolytic protozoan Trichomitopsis termopsidis possessed endo-..beta..-1,4-glucanase and cellobiase activities, as evidenced by hydrolytic action on carboxymethyl cellulose and cellobiose, respectively. Cell extracts also hydrolyzed microcrystalline cellulose. Hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose displayed optima at pH 5 and at 30 degrees C, and glucose was the sole product liberated. Cellulolytic activities of T. termopsidis appeared to be entirely cell associated. Hydrolytic activity was also detected against Douglas fir wood powder, xylan, starch, and protein, but not chitin. The importance of these enyzmes in the nutrition of T. termopsidis is discussed in terms of the natural habitat ofmore » this protozoan (the hindgut of wood-eating termites). 31 references.« less

  5. Ultrasound-assisted acid hydrolysis of cellulose to chemical building blocks: Application to furfural synthesis.

    PubMed

    Santos, Daniel; Silva, Ubiratan F; Duarte, Fabio A; Bizzi, Cezar A; Flores, Erico M M; Mello, Paola A

    2018-01-01

    In this work, the use of ultrasound energy for the production of furanic platforms from cellulose was investigated and the synthesis of furfural was demonstrated. Several systems were evaluated, as ultrasound bath, cup horn and probe, in order to investigate microcrystalline cellulose conversion using simply a diluted acid solution and ultrasound. Several acid mixtures were evaluated for hydrolysis, as diluted solutions of HNO 3 , H 2 SO 4 , HCl and H 2 C 2 O 4 . The influence of the following parameters in the ultrasound-assisted acid hydrolysis (UAAH) were studied: sonication temperature (30 to 70°C) and ultrasound amplitude (30 to 70% for a cup horn system) for 4 to 8molL -1 HNO 3 solutions. For each evaluated condition, the products were identified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography with high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-ToF-MS), which provide accurate information regarding the products obtained from biomass conversion. The furfural structure was confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H and 13 C NMR) spectroscopy. In addition, cellulosic residues from hydrolysis reaction were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which contributed for a better understanding of physical-chemical effects caused by ultrasound. After process optimization, a 4molL -1 HNO 3 solution, sonicated for 60min at 30°C in a cup horn system at 50% of amplitude, lead to 78% of conversion to furfural. This mild temperature condition combined to the use of a diluted acid solution represents an important contribution for the selective production of chemical building blocks using ultrasound energy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Different Types of Dietary Fibers Trigger Specific Alterations in Composition and Predicted Functions of Colonic Bacterial Communities in BALB/c Mice

    PubMed Central

    Luo, Yuheng; Zhang, Ling; Li, Hua; Smidt, Hauke; Wright, André-Denis G.; Zhang, Keying; Ding, Xuemei; Zeng, Qiufeng; Bai, Shiping; Wang, Jianping; Li, Jian; Zheng, Ping; Tian, Gang; Cai, Jingyi; Chen, Daiwen

    2017-01-01

    Soluble dietary fibers (SDF) are fermented more than insoluble dietary fibers (IDF), but their effect on colonic bacterial community structure and function remains unclear. Thus, bacterial community composition and function in the colon of BALB/c mice (n = 7) fed with a high level (approximately 20%) of typical SDF, oat-derived β-glucan (G), microcrystalline cellulose (M) as IDF, or their mixture (GM), were compared. Mice in group G showed a lowest average feed intake (p < 0.05) but no change on the average body weight gain (p > 0.05) compared to other groups, which may be associated with the highest concentration of colonic propionate (p < 0.05) in these mice. The bacterial α-diversity of group G was significantly lower than other groups (p < 0.01). In group G, the relative abundance of bacteria belonging to the phylum Bacteroidetes was significantly increased, whereas bacteria from the phylum Firmicutes were significantly decreased (p < 0.01). The core bacteria for different treatments showed distinct differences. Bacteroides, Dehalobacterium, and Prevotella, including known acetogens and carbohydrate fermenting organisms, were significantly increased in relative abundance in group G. In contrast, Adlercreutzia, Odoribacter, and Coprococcus were significantly more abundant in group M, whereas Oscillospira, Desulfovibrio, and Ruminoccaceae, typical hydrogenotrophs equipped with multiple carbohydrate active enzymes, were remarkably enriched in group GM (p < 0.05). The relative abundance of bacteria from the three classes of Proteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria (including Enterobacteriaceae) and Deltaproteobacteria, were significantly more abundant in group G, indicating a higher ratio of conditional pathogenic bacteria in mice fed dietary β-glucan in current study. The predicted colonic microbial function showed an enrichment of “Energy metabolism” and “Carbohydrate metabolism” pathways in mice from group G and M, suggesting that the

  7. Different Types of Dietary Fibers Trigger Specific Alterations in Composition and Predicted Functions of Colonic Bacterial Communities in BALB/c Mice.

    PubMed

    Luo, Yuheng; Zhang, Ling; Li, Hua; Smidt, Hauke; Wright, André-Denis G; Zhang, Keying; Ding, Xuemei; Zeng, Qiufeng; Bai, Shiping; Wang, Jianping; Li, Jian; Zheng, Ping; Tian, Gang; Cai, Jingyi; Chen, Daiwen

    2017-01-01

    Soluble dietary fibers (SDF) are fermented more than insoluble dietary fibers (IDF), but their effect on colonic bacterial community structure and function remains unclear. Thus, bacterial community composition and function in the colon of BALB/c mice ( n = 7) fed with a high level (approximately 20%) of typical SDF, oat-derived β-glucan (G), microcrystalline cellulose (M) as IDF, or their mixture (GM), were compared. Mice in group G showed a lowest average feed intake ( p < 0.05) but no change on the average body weight gain ( p > 0.05) compared to other groups, which may be associated with the highest concentration of colonic propionate ( p < 0.05) in these mice. The bacterial α-diversity of group G was significantly lower than other groups ( p < 0.01). In group G, the relative abundance of bacteria belonging to the phylum Bacteroidetes was significantly increased, whereas bacteria from the phylum Firmicutes were significantly decreased ( p < 0.01). The core bacteria for different treatments showed distinct differences. Bacteroides , Dehalobacterium , and Prevotella , including known acetogens and carbohydrate fermenting organisms, were significantly increased in relative abundance in group G. In contrast, Adlercreutzia , Odoribacter , and Coprococcus were significantly more abundant in group M, whereas Oscillospira , Desulfovibrio , and Ruminoccaceae , typical hydrogenotrophs equipped with multiple carbohydrate active enzymes, were remarkably enriched in group GM ( p < 0.05). The relative abundance of bacteria from the three classes of Proteobacteria , Betaproteobacteria , Gammaproteobacteria (including Enterobacteriaceae ) and Deltaproteobacteria , were significantly more abundant in group G, indicating a higher ratio of conditional pathogenic bacteria in mice fed dietary β-glucan in current study. The predicted colonic microbial function showed an enrichment of "Energy metabolism" and "Carbohydrate metabolism" pathways in mice from group G and M, suggesting

  8. Isolation and identification of biocellulose-producing bacterial strains from Malaysian acidic fruits.

    PubMed

    Voon, W W Y; Rukayadi, Y; Meor Hussin, A S

    2016-05-01

    Biocellulose (BC) is pure extracellular cellulose produced by several species of micro-organisms that has numerous applications in the food, biomedical and paper industries. However, the existing biocellulose-producing bacterial strain with high yield was limited. The aim of this study was to isolate and identify the potential biocellulose-producing bacterial isolates from Malaysian acidic fruits. One hundred and ninety-three bacterial isolates were obtained from 19 local acidic fruits collected in Malaysia and screened for their ability to produce BC. A total of 15 potential bacterial isolates were then cultured in standard Hestrin-Schramm (HS) medium statically at 30°C for 2 weeks to determine the BC production. The most potent bacterial isolates were identified using 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, morphological and biochemical characteristics. Three new and potent biocellulose-producing bacterial strains were isolated from soursop fruit and identified as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia WAUPM42, Pantoea vagans WAUPM45 and Beijerinckia fluminensis WAUPM53. Stenotrophomonas maltophilia WAUPM42 was the most potent biocellulose-producing bacterial strain that produced the highest amount of BC 0·58 g l(-1) in standard HS medium. Whereas, the isolates P. vagans WAUPM45 and B. fluminensis WAUPM53 showed 0·50 and 0·52 g l(-1) of BC production, respectively. Biocellulose (BC) is pure extracellular cellulose that is formed by many micro-organisms in the presence of carbon source and acidic condition. It can replace plant-based cellulose in multifarious applications due to its unique characteristics. In this study, three potential biocellulose-producing bacterial strains were obtained from Malaysian acidic fruits and identified as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia WAUPM42, Pantoea vagans WAUPM45 and Beijerinckia fluminensis WAUPM53. This study reports for the first time the new biocellulose-producing bacterial strains isolated from Malaysian acidic fruits. © 2016 The

  9. Diverse culturable bacterial communities with cellulolytic potential revealed from pristine habitat in Indian trans-Himalaya.

    PubMed

    Thakur, Vikas; Kumar, Vijay; Kumar, Sanjay; Singh, Dharam

    2018-05-28

    Pangi-Chamba Himalaya (PCH) region is very pristine, unique and virgin niche for bioresource exploration. In the current study, for the first time, the bacterial diversity of this region for potential cellulose degrader was investigated. A total of 454 pure bacterial isolates were obtained from diverse sites in PCH region and 111 isolates were further selected for 16S rDNA characterization based on ARDRA grouping. Identified bacteria belongs to twenty-eight genera representing four phyla namely Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes. Pseudomonas was most abundant genera followed by Bacillus, Geobacillus, Arthrobacter, Paenibacillus, and Flavobacterium. In addition, 6 putative novel bacteria (based on 16S rDNA sequence similarity) and thermophiles from non-thermogenic sites were also reported for the first time. Screening for cellulose degradation ability on carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) plates had revealed 70.92% of cellulolytic bacteria. Current study reports diverse genera (Arthrobacter, Paenibacillus, Chryseobacterium, Pedobacter, Streptomyces, Agromyces, Flavobacterium, and Pseudomonas), high cellulose hydrolysis zone, and wide pH and temperature functional cellulolytic bacteria hitherto reported in the literature. Diverse bacterial genera with high cellulolytic activity in broad pH and temperature range provide opportunity to develop a bioprocess for efficient pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass, which is currently being investigated.

  10. Spatial and temporal dynamics of cellulose degradation and biofilm formation by Caldicellulosiruptor obsidiansis and Clostridium thermocellum Caldicellulosiruptor obsidiansis

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wang, Zhiwu; Lee, Sueng-Hwan; Elkins, James G

    2011-01-01

    Cellulose degradation is one of the major bottlenecks of a consolidated bioprocess that employs cellulolytic bacterial cells as catalysts to produce biofuels from cellulosic biomass. In this study, we investigated the spatial and temporal dynamics of cellulose degradation by Caldicellulosiruptor obsidiansis, which does not produce cellulosomes, and Clostridium thermocellum, which does produce cellulosomes. Results showed that the degradation of either regenerated or natural cellulose was synchronized with biofilm formation, a process characterized by the formation and fusion of numerous crater-like depressions on the cellulose surface. In addition, the dynamics of biofilm formation were similar in both bacteria, regardless of cellulosomemore » production. Only the areas of cellulose surface colonized by microbes were significantly degraded, highlighting the essential role of the cellulolytic biofilm in cellulose utilization. After initial attachment, the microbial biofilm structure remained thin, uniform and dense throughout the experiment. A cellular automaton model, constructed under the assumption that the attached cells divide and produce daughter cells that contribute to the hydrolysis of the adjacent cellulose, can largely simulate the observed process of biofilm formation and cellulose degradation. This study presents a model, based on direct observation, correlating cellulolytic biofilm formation with cellulose degradation.« less

  11. Coordinated Cyclic-Di-GMP Repression of Salmonella Motility through YcgR and Cellulose

    PubMed Central

    Zorraquino, Violeta; García, Begoña; Latasa, Cristina; Echeverz, Maite; Toledo-Arana, Alejandro; Valle, Jaione

    2013-01-01

    Cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP) is a secondary messenger that controls a variety of cellular processes, including the switch between a biofilm and a planktonic bacterial lifestyle. This nucleotide binds to cellular effectors in order to exert its regulatory functions. In Salmonella, two proteins, BcsA and YcgR, both of them containing a c-di-GMP binding PilZ domain, are the only known c-di-GMP receptors. BcsA, upon c-di-GMP binding, synthesizes cellulose, the main exopolysaccharide of the biofilm matrix. YcgR is dedicated to c-di-GMP-dependent inhibition of motility through its interaction with flagellar motor proteins. However, previous evidences indicate that in the absence of YcgR, there is still an additional element that mediates motility impairment under high c-di-GMP levels. Here we have uncovered that cellulose per se is the factor that further promotes inhibition of bacterial motility once high c-di-GMP contents drive the activation of a sessile lifestyle. Inactivation of different genes of the bcsABZC operon, mutation of the conserved residues in the RxxxR motif of the BcsA PilZ domain, or degradation of the cellulose produced by BcsA rescued the motility defect of ΔycgR strains in which high c-di-GMP levels were reached through the overexpression of diguanylate cyclases. High c-di-GMP levels provoked cellulose accumulation around cells that impeded flagellar rotation, probably by means of steric hindrance, without affecting flagellum gene expression, exportation, or assembly. Our results highlight the relevance of cellulose in Salmonella lifestyle switching as an architectural element that is both essential for biofilm development and required, in collaboration with YcgR, for complete motility inhibition. PMID:23161026

  12. HPMC supplementation reduces abdominal fat content, intestinal permeability, inflammation, and insulin resistance in diet-induced obese mice

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Cationic hydroxyethyl cellulose (cHEC) , was fed to hamsters to determine if this new soluble fiber had an effect on hypercholesterolemia and dyslipidemia associated with cardiovascular disease. In this study, Golden Syrian hamsters were supplemented with 3-8% cHEC or microcrystalline cellulose (MC...

  13. Cellulose in Cyanobacteria. Origin of Vascular Plant Cellulose Synthase?

    PubMed Central

    Nobles, David R.; Romanovicz, Dwight K.; Brown, R. Malcolm

    2001-01-01

    Although cellulose biosynthesis among the cyanobacteria has been suggested previously, we present the first conclusive evidence, to our knowledge, of the presence of cellulose in these organisms. Based on the results of x-ray diffraction, electron microscopy of microfibrils, and cellobiohydrolase I-gold labeling, we report the occurrence of cellulose biosynthesis in nine species representing three of the five sections of cyanobacteria. Sequence analysis of the genomes of four cyanobacteria revealed the presence of multiple amino acid sequences bearing the DDD35QXXRW motif conserved in all cellulose synthases. Pairwise alignments demonstrated that CesAs from plants were more similar to putative cellulose synthases from Anabaena sp. Pasteur Culture Collection 7120 and Nostoc punctiforme American Type Culture Collection 29133 than any other cellulose synthases in the database. Multiple alignments of putative cellulose synthases from Anabaena sp. Pasteur Culture Collection 7120 and N. punctiforme American Type Culture Collection 29133 with the cellulose synthases of other prokaryotes, Arabidopsis, Gossypium hirsutum, Populus alba × Populus tremula, corn (Zea mays), and Dictyostelium discoideum showed that cyanobacteria share an insertion between conserved regions U1 and U2 found previously only in eukaryotic sequences. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis indicates that the cyanobacterial cellulose synthases share a common branch with CesAs of vascular plants in a manner similar to the relationship observed with cyanobacterial and chloroplast 16s rRNAs, implying endosymbiotic transfer of CesA from cyanobacteria to plants and an ancient origin for cellulose synthase in eukaryotes. PMID:11598227

  14. Superelastic and superhydrophobic bacterial cellulose/silica aerogels with hierarchical cellular structure for oil absorption and recovery.

    PubMed

    He, Jian; Zhao, Hangyuan; Li, Xiaolei; Su, Dong; Zhang, Fengrui; Ji, Huiming; Liu, Rui

    2018-03-15

    Bacterial cellulose aerogels/silica aerogels (BCAs/SAs) are prepared using three-dimensional self-assembled BC skeleton as reinforcement and methyltriethoxysilane derived silica aerogels as filler through vacuum infiltration and freeze drying. The BCAs/SAs possess a hierarchical cellular structure giving them superelasticity and recyclable compressibility. The BCAs/SAs can bear a compressive strain up to 80% and recover their original shapes after the release of the stress. The BCAs/SAs exhibit super-hydrophobicity with a contact angle of 152° and super-oleophilicity resulting from the methyl groups on the surface of silica aerogel filler. This endows the BCAs/SAs outstanding oil absorbing capability with the quality factor Q from 8 to 14 for organic solvents and oils. Moreover, the absorbed oil can be retrieved by mechanically squeezed with a recovery of 88% related to the superelastic ability of the composites. In addition, the oil absorbing of BS/SAs could be well maintained with the quality factor Q about 11 for gasoline after harsh conditional treatment down to -200 °C and up to 300 °C. Such outstanding elastic and oleophilic properties make the BC/SAs tremendous potential for applications of oil absorbing, recovery and oil-water separation. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  15. Characterization of cellulose degrading bacteria from the larval gut of the white grub beetle Lepidiota mansueta (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae).

    PubMed

    Handique, Gautam; Phukan, Amrita; Bhattacharyya, Badal; Baruah, Abu Adil Lutful Haque; Rahman, Syed Wasifur; Baruah, Rajen

    2017-02-01

    The goal of this study is to identify and characterize the cellulose degrading microorganisms in the larval gut of the white grub beetle, Lepidiota mansueta. Thirty bacterial strains were isolated and tested for cellulolytic activity using soluble carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) degrading assays. Of these strains, five (FGB1, FB2, MB1, MB2, and HB1) degrade cellulose. Cellulolytic activity was determined based on formation of clear zone and cellulolytic index on CMC plate media. The highest cellulolytic index (2.14) was found in FGB1. Partial 16S rDNA sequencing, morphological, and biochemical tests were used to identify and characterize the five isolates, all Citrobacter sp. (Enterobacteriaceae). This study identifies new cellulose degrading microorganisms from the larval gut of L. mansueta. The significance of identifying these strains lies in possible application in cellulose degradation. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Piezoelectric immunochip coated with thin films of bacterial cellulose nanocrystals for dengue detection.

    PubMed

    Pirich, Cleverton Luiz; de Freitas, Rilton Alves; Torresi, Roberto Manuel; Picheth, Guilherme Fadel; Sierakowski, Maria Rita

    2017-06-15

    Low-cost piezoelectric devices, such as simple frequency monitoring quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) devices, have good clinical utility as fast diagnostic tools for the detection of several diseases. However, unspecific antigen recognition, poor molecular probe adsorption and the need for sample dilution are still common drawbacks that hinder their use in routine diagnosis. In this work, piezoelectric sensors were previously coated with thin films of bacterial cellulose nanocrystals (CN) to provide a more sensitive and adapted interface for the attachment of monoclonal immunoglobulin G (IgGNS1) and to favor specific detection of non-structural protein 1 (NS1) of dengue fever. The assembly of the immunochip surface was analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the NS1 detection was followed by quartz crystal microbalance with (QCM-D) and without energy dissipation monitoring (QCM). The CN surface was able to immobilize 2.30±0.5mgm -2 of IgGNS1, as confirmed by AFM topography and phase images along with QCM-D. The system was able to detect the NS1 protein in serum with only 10-fold dilution in the range of 0.01-10µgmL -1 by both QCM and QCM-D. The limits of detection of the two devices were 0.1μgmL -1 for QCM-D and 0.32μgmL -1 for QCM. As a result, QCM-D and QCM apparatuses can be used to follow NS1 recognition and have good potential for more sensitive, fast and/or less expensive diagnostic assays for dengue. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Three dimensional amorphous silicon/microcrystalline silicon solar cells

    DOEpatents

    Kaschmitter, James L.

    1996-01-01

    Three dimensional deep contact amorphous silicon/microcrystalline silicon (a-Si/.mu.c-Si) solar cells which use deep (high aspect ratio) p and n contacts to create high electric fields within the carrier collection volume material of the cell. The deep contacts are fabricated using repetitive pulsed laser doping so as to create the high aspect p and n contacts. By the provision of the deep contacts which penetrate the electric field deep into the material where the high strength of the field can collect many of the carriers, thereby resulting in a high efficiency solar cell.

  18. Three dimensional amorphous silicon/microcrystalline silicon solar cells

    DOEpatents

    Kaschmitter, J.L.

    1996-07-23

    Three dimensional deep contact amorphous silicon/microcrystalline silicon (a-Si/{micro}c-Si) solar cells are disclosed which use deep (high aspect ratio) p and n contacts to create high electric fields within the carrier collection volume material of the cell. The deep contacts are fabricated using repetitive pulsed laser doping so as to create the high aspect p and n contacts. By the provision of the deep contacts which penetrate the electric field deep into the material where the high strength of the field can collect many of the carriers, thereby resulting in a high efficiency solar cell. 4 figs.

  19. Evaluation of the binding effect of human serum albumin on the properties of granules.

    PubMed

    Kristó, Katalin; Bajdik, János; Eros, István; Pintye-Hódi, Klára

    2008-11-01

    The main objective of this study was the application of a solution of human serum albumin as a granulating fluid. The properties of the granules formed were evaluated and compared with those when a conventional binder was applied in the same concentration. The powder mixture contained a soluble (mannitol) and an insoluble component (different types of cellulose). The protein solution applied exerted an appropriate aggregating effect if the system contained microcrystalline celluloses. Powdered cellulose was not suitable for the granulation with human serum albumin solution. As compared with the same concentration of the conventionally applied cellulose ethers as binder, the prepared granules exhibited a larger particle size, a significantly better compressibility, a higher breaking hardness and a favourable deformation process. These findings mainly reflect the good adhesive properties of the protein. The best compressibility and mechanical behaviour were attained on the application of the microcrystalline cellulose Vivapur type 105. This favourable behaviour may be connected with the wettability of cellulose. These results suggest that the formulation of tablets may be easier from an active agent in the serum that binds to albumin (e.g. interferon) since the amount of additives (binder) can be reduced.

  20. Bioconversion of cellulose into electrical energy in microbial fuel cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rismani-Yazdi, Hamid

    In microbial fuel cells (MFCs), bacteria generate electricity by mediating the oxidation of organic compounds and transferring the resulting electrons to an anode electrode. The first objective of this study was to test the possibility of generating electricity with rumen microorganisms as biocatalysts and cellulose as the electron donor in two-compartment MFCs. Maximum power density reached 55 mW/m2 (1.5 mA, 313 mV) with cellulose as the electron donor. Cellulose hydrolysis and electrode reduction were shown to support the production of current. The electrical current was sustained for over two months with periodic cellulose addition. Clarified rumen fluid and a soluble carbohydrate mixture, serving as the electron donors, could also sustain power output. The second objective was to analyze the composition of the bacterial communities enriched in the cellulose-fed MFCs. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of PCR amplified 16S rRNA genes revealed that the microbial communities differed when different substrates were used in the MFCs. The anode-attached and the suspended consortia were shown to be different within the same MFC. Cloning and analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the most predominant bacteria in the anode-attached consortia were related to Clostridium spp., while Comamonas spp. was abundant in the suspended consortia. The external resistance affects the characteristic outputs of MFCs by controlling the flow of electrons from the anode to the cathode. The third objective of this study was to determine the effect of various external resistances on power output and coulombic efficiency of cellulose-fed MFCs. Four external resistances (20, 249, 480, and 1000 ohms) were tested with a systematic approach of operating parallel MFCs independently at constant circuit loads for three months. A maximum power density of 66 mWm-2 was achieved by MFCs with 20 ohms circuit load, while MFCs with 249, 480 and1000 ohms external resistances produced 57

  1. Immobilization of Acetobacter aceti on cellulose ion exchangers: adsorption isotherms

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bar, R.; Gainer, J.L.; Kirwan, D.J.

    1986-08-01

    The adsorptive behavior of cells of Acetobacter aceti, ATCC 23746, on DEAE-, TEAE-, and DEHPAE-cellulose ion exchangers in a modified Hoyer's medium at 30 degrees Centigrade was investigated. The maximum observed adsorption capacities varied from 46 to 64 mg dry wt/g resin. The Langmuir isotherm form was used to fit the data, since the cells formed a monolayer on the resin and exhibited saturation. The equilibrium constant in the Langmuir expression was qualitatively correlated with the surface charge density of the resin. The adsorption was also ''normalized'' by considering the ionic capacities of the resins. The exceptionally high normalized adsorptionmore » capacity of ECTEOLA-cellulose, 261 mg dry/meq, may be explained by an interaction between the cell wall and the polyglyceryl chains of the exchanging groups in addition to the electrostatic effects. The effect of pH on the bacterial adsorption capacity of ECTEOLA-, TEAE-, and phosphate-cellulose resins was studied and the pH of the bacteria was estimated to be 3.0. 17 references.« less

  2. An Investigation of Cellulose Digesting Bacteria in the Panda Gut Microbiome

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lu, M.; Leung, F. C.

    2014-12-01

    The Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) diet consists primarily of bamboo leaves, stems and shoots. However, the Giant Panda lacks genes for the enzymes needed to digest cellulose, the core component of bamboo. Thus, it is hypothesized that the cellulolytic digestion necessary for maintaining the Giant Panda diet is carried out by microbial symbionts in the panda gut microbiota. Fecal microbiota is used as surrogate index for gut microbiota since the Giant Panda is listed by the World Conservation Union as a Threatened Species. Two bacterial isolates with potential cellulolytic activity were isolated from Giant Panda fecal samples and cultured on selective media CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose) agar and CMC-Congo Red agar using various methods of inoculation. After incubation, clearance zones around colonies were observed and used as qualitative assays for cellulose digestion. Polymerase chain reaction amplification of the 16S rRNA gene was completed and species identification was done based on the BLAST result of 16S rRNA sequence obtained using Sanger sequencing. Once the cellulase activity is confirmed, genomic DNA of the bacteria will be extracted and used for whole genome shotgun sequencing. Illumina next generation sequencing platform will be adopted as it yields high-throughput information, providing a better understanding of cellulose digestion and the molecular genetic pathways to renewable sources of biofuels. Researchers have identified multiple cellulose-digesting microbes in the Giant Panda gut, but few have applied such bacteria in converting cellulose into glucose to create biofuel. Cellulosic ethanol, a biofuel, is produced through the fermentation of lignocellulosic biomasses. This anaerobic process is aided by cellulose-digesting enzymes. Certain microbes, such as those present in the Giant Panda gut, can produce enzymes that cleave the glycosidic bonds of cellulose (C6H10O5) into glucose molecules (C6H12O6), which can then be fermented into ethanol

  3. Microcrystalline diamond cylindrical resonators with quality-factor up to 0.5 million

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saito, Daisuke; Yang, Chen; Heidari, Amir; Najar, Hadi; Lin, Liwei; Horsley, David A.

    2016-02-01

    We demonstrate high quality-factor 1.5 mm diameter batch-fabricated microcrystalline diamond cylindrical resonators (CR) with quality-factors limited by thermoelastic damping (TED) and surface loss. Resonators were fabricated 2.6 and 5.3 μm thick in-situ boron-doped microcrystalline diamond films deposited using hot filament chemical vapor deposition. The quality-factor (Q) of as-fabricated CR's was found to increase with the resonator diameter and diamond thickness. Annealing the CRs at 700 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere led to a three-fold increase in Q, a result we attribute to thinning of the diamond layer via reaction with residual O2 in the annealing furnace. Post-anneal Q exceeding 0.5 million (528 000) was measured at the 19 kHz elliptical wineglass modes, producing a ring-down time of 8.9 s. A model for Q versus diamond thickness and resonance frequency is developed including the effects of TED and surface loss. Measured quality factors are shown to agree with the predictions of this model.

  4. Broadband absorption enhancement in plasmonic nanoshells-based ultrathin microcrystalline-Si solar cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Raja, Waseem; Bozzola, Angelo; Zilio, Pierfrancesco; Miele, Ermanno; Panaro, Simone; Wang, Hai; Toma, Andrea; Alabastri, Alessandro; de Angelis, Francesco; Zaccaria, Remo Proietti

    2016-04-01

    With the objective to conceive a plasmonic solar cell with enhanced photocurrent, we investigate the role of plasmonic nanoshells, embedded within a ultrathin microcrystalline silicon solar cell, in enhancing broadband light trapping capability of the cell and, at the same time, to reduce the parasitic loss. The thickness of the considered microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si) layer is only ~1/6 of conventional μc-Si based solar cells while the plasmonic nanoshells are formed by a combination of silica and gold, respectively core and shell. We analyze the cell optical response by varying both the geometrical and optical parameters of the overall device. In particular, the nanoshells core radius and metal thickness, the periodicity, the incident angle of the solar radiation and its wavelength are varied in the widest meaningful ranges. We further explain the reason for the absorption enhancement by calculating the electric field distribution associated to resonances of the device. We argue that both Fabry-Pérot-like and localized plasmon modes play an important role in this regard.

  5. An Investigation of Cellulose Digesting Bacteria in the Camel Feces Microbiome

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Man, V.; Leung, F. C.

    2015-12-01

    Research Question: Is there a bacteria in camel feces that digests cellulose material and can be used for waste to energy projects? Fossil fuels are the current main resource of energy in the modern world. However, as the demand for fuel increases, biofuels have been proposed as an alternative energy source that is a more sustainable form of liquid fuel generation from living things or waste, commonly known as biofuels and ethanol. The Camelus dromedarius', also known as Arabian camel, diet consist of grass, grains, wheat and oats as well desert vegetation in their natural habitat. However, as the Arabian camel lacks the enzymes to degrade cellulose, it is hypothesized that cellulose digestion is performed by microbial symbionts in camel microbiota. Fecal samples were collected from the Camelus dromedarius in United Arab Emirates and diluted 10-7 times. The diluted sample was then streaked onto a Sodium Carboxymethyl Cellulose plate, and inoculated onto CMC and Azure-B plates. Afterwards, Congo Red was used for staining in order to identify clearance zones of single colonies that may potentially be used as a qualitative assays for cellulose digestion. Then the colonies undergo polymerase chain reaction amplification to produce amplified RNA fragments. The 16S ribosomal RNA gene is identified based on BLAST result using Sanger Sequencing. Amongst the three identified microbes: Bacillus, Staphylococcus and Escherichia coli, both Bacillus and Staphylococcus are cellulose-digesting microbes, and through the fermentation of lignocellulosic, biomasses can be converted into cellulosic ethanol (Biofuel). According to the Improvements in Life Cycle Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Corn-Ethanol by Adam J. Liska, ""Ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 40-50% when compared directly to gasoline." The determination of bacterial communities that are capable of efficiently and effectively digesting cellulose materials requires that the bacteria be first

  6. Bacterial Cellulose: A Robust Platform for Design of Three Dimensional Carbon-Based Functional Nanomaterials.

    PubMed

    Wu, Zhen-Yu; Liang, Hai-Wei; Chen, Li-Feng; Hu, Bi-Cheng; Yu, Shu-Hong

    2016-01-19

    Three dimensional (3D) carbon nanomaterials exhibit great application potential in environmental protection, electrochemical energy storage and conversion, catalysis, polymer science, and advanced sensors fields. Current methods for preparing 3D carbon nanomaterials, for example, carbonization of organogels, chemical vapor deposition, and self-assembly of nanocarbon building blocks, inevitably involve some drawbacks, such as expensive and toxic precursors, complex equipment and technological requirements, and low production ability. From the viewpoint of practical application, it is highly desirable to develop a simple, cheap, and environmentally friendly way for fabricating 3D carbon nanomaterials in large scale. On the other hand, in order to extend the application scope and improve the performance of 3D carbon nanomaterials, we should explore efficient strategies to prepare diverse functional nanomaterials based on their 3D carbon structure. Recently, many researchers tend to fabricate high-performance 3D carbon-based nanomaterials from biomass, which is low cost, easy to obtain, and nontoxic to humans. Bacterial cellulose (BC), a typical biomass material, has long been used as the raw material of nata-de-coco (an indigenous dessert food of the Philippines). It consists of a polysaccharide with a β-1,4-glycosidic linkage and has a interconnected 3D porous network structure. Interestingly, the network is made up of a random assembly of cellulose nanofibers, which have a high aspect ratio with a diameter of 20-100 nm. As a result, BC has a high specific surface area. Additionally, BC hydrogels can be produced on an industrial scale via a microbial fermentation process at a very low price. Thus, it can be an ideal platform for design of 3D carbon-based functional nanomaterials. Before our work, no systematic work and summary on this topic had been reported. This Account presents the concepts and strategies of our studies on BC in the past few years, that is

  7. Polypeptide composition of bacterial cyclic diguanylic acid-dependent cellulose synthase and the occurrence of immunologically crossreacting proteins in higher plants

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mayer, R.; Ross, P.; Weinhouse, H.

    1991-06-15

    To comprehend the catalytic and regulatory mechanism of the cyclic diguanylic acid (c-di-GMP)-dependent cellulose synthase of Acetobacter xylinum and its relatedness to similar enzymes in other organisms, the structure of this enzyme was analyzed at the polypeptide level. The enzyme, purified 350-fold by enzyme-product entrapment, contains three major peptides (90, 67, and 54 kDa), which, based on direct photoaffinity and immunochemical labeling and amino acid sequence analysis, are constituents of the native cellulose synthase. Labeling of purified synthase with either ({sup 32}P)c-di-GMP or ({alpha}-{sup 32}P)UDP-glucose indicates that activator- and substrate-specific binding sites are most closely associated with the 67- andmore » 54-kDa peptides, respectively, whereas marginal photolabeling is detected in the 90-k-Da peptide. However, antibodies raised against a protein derived from the cellulose synthase structural gene (bcsB) specifically label all three peptides. The authors suggest that the structurally related 67- and 54-kDa peptides are fragments proteolytically derived from the 90-kDa peptide encoded by bcsB. The anti-cellulose synthase antibodies crossreact with a similar set of peptides derived from other cellulose-producing microorganisms and plants such as Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Rhizobium leguminosarum, mung bean, peas, barley, and cotton. The occurrence of such cellulose synthase-like structures in plant species suggests that a common enzymatic mechanism for cellulose biogenesis is employed throughout nature.« less

  8. Directed Biosynthesis of Oriented Crystalline Cellulose for Advanced Composite Fibers

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-05-03

    8 growth rate Table 2. An optimized minimal salts high conductivity growth medium (named 9 Son-Matsuoka- Fructose , SMF) based on the optimized...basis for a high -conductivity medium for Acetobacter that also contained corn steep liquor. List of Figures Figure 1. Scanning electron micrographs of...bacterial cellulose production include corn steep liquor (Matsuoka et al., 1996) apples, beer wort (Brown, 1886; Herrmann, 1928), corn syrup , kale (black

  9. In Vivo Isotopic Labeling of Symbiotic Bacteria Involved in Cellulose Degradation and Nitrogen Recycling within the Gut of the Forest Cockchafer (Melolontha hippocastani).

    PubMed

    Alonso-Pernas, Pol; Bartram, Stefan; Arias-Cordero, Erika M; Novoselov, Alexey L; Halty-deLeon, Lorena; Shao, Yongqi; Boland, Wilhelm

    2017-01-01

    The guts of insects harbor symbiotic bacterial communities. However, due to their complexity, it is challenging to relate a specific symbiotic phylotype to its corresponding function. In the present study, we focused on the forest cockchafer ( Melolontha hippocastani ), a phytophagous insect with a dual life cycle, consisting of a root-feeding larval stage and a leaf-feeding adult stage. By combining in vivo stable isotope probing (SIP) with 13 C cellulose and 15 N urea as trophic links, with Illumina MiSeq (Illumina-SIP), we unraveled bacterial networks processing recalcitrant dietary components and recycling nitrogenous waste. The bacterial communities behind these processes change between larval and adult stages. In 13 C cellulose-fed insects, the bacterial families Lachnospiraceae and Enterobacteriaceae were isotopically labeled in larvae and adults, respectively. In 15 N urea-fed insects, the genera Burkholderia and Parabacteroides were isotopically labeled in larvae and adults, respectively. Additionally, the PICRUSt-predicted metagenome suggested a possible ability to degrade hemicellulose and to produce amino acids of, respectively, 13 C cellulose- and 15 N urea labeled bacteria. The incorporation of 15 N from ingested urea back into the insect body was confirmed, in larvae and adults, by isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). Besides highlighting key bacterial symbionts of the gut of M. hippocastani , this study provides example on how Illumina-SIP with multiple trophic links can be used to target microorganisms embracing different roles within an environment.

  10. Cellulose-Hemicellulose Interactions at Elevated Temperatures Increase Cellulose Recalcitrance to Biological Conversion

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mittal, Ashutosh; Himmel, Michael E; Kumar, Rajeev

    It has been previously shown that cellulose-lignin droplets' strong interactions, resulting from lignin coalescence and redisposition on cellulose surface during thermochemical pretreatments, increase cellulose recalcitrance to biological conversion, especially at commercially viable low enzyme loadings. However, information on the impact of cellulose-hemicellulose interactions on cellulose recalcitrance following relevant pretreatment conditions are scarce. Here, to investigate the effects of plausible hemicellulose precipitation and re-association with cellulose on cellulose conversion, different pretreatments were applied to pure Avicel(R) PH101 cellulose alone and Avicel mixed with model hemicellulose compounds followed by enzymatic hydrolysis of resulting solids at both low and high enzyme loadings. Solidsmore » produced by pretreatment of Avicel mixed with hemicelluloses (AMH) were found to contain about 2 to 14.6% of exogenous, precipitated hemicelluloses and showed a remarkably much lower digestibility (up to 60%) than their respective controls. However, the exogenous hemicellulosic residues that associated with Avicel following high temperature pretreatments resulted in greater losses in cellulose conversion than those formed at low temperatures, suggesting that temperature plays a strong role in the strength of cellulose-hemicellulose association. Molecular dynamics simulations of hemicellulosic xylan and cellulose were found to further support this temperature effect as the xylan-cellulose interactions were found to substantially increase at elevated temperatures. Furthermore, exogenous, precipitated hemicelluloses in pretreated AMH solids resulted in a larger drop in cellulose conversion than the delignified lignocellulosic biomass containing comparably much higher natural hemicellulose amounts. Increased cellulase loadings or supplementation of cellulase with xylanases enhanced cellulose conversion for most pretreated AMH solids; however, this

  11. HRTEM of microcrystalline opal in chert and porcelanite from the Monterey Formation, California

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cady, S.L.; Wenk, H.R.; Downing, K.H.

    Microcrystalline opal was investigated using low-dose transmission electron microscopy (TEM) methods to identify microstructural characteristics and possible phase-transformation mechanisms that accommodate silica diagenesis. High-resolution TEM (HRTEM) revealed that microcrystalline opal in opal-CT chert (>90 wt% silica) and opal-CT porcelanite (50-90 wt% silica) from the Miocene Monterey Formation of California displays various amounts of structural disorder and coherent and incoherent lamellar intergrowths. Species of microfibrous opal identified by HRTEM in early-formed opal-CT chert include length-slow opal-C and unidimensionally disordered length-slow opal-CT ({open_quotes}lussatite{close_quotes}). These fibers often display a microstructure characterized by an aperiodic distribution of highly strained domains that separate ordered domainsmore » located at discrete positions along the direction of the fiber axes. Microfibrous opal occurs as several types of fiber-aggregation forms. TEM revealed that the siliceous matrix in later-formed opal-CT porcelanite consists of equidimensional, nanometer-size opal-CT crystallites and lussatite fibers. Pseudo-orthorhombic tridymite (PO-2) was identified by HRTEM in one sample of opal-CT porcelanite. Burial diagenesis of chert and porcelanite results in the precipitation of opal-C and the epitaxial growth of opal-C domains on opal-CT substrates. Diagenetic maturation of lussatite was identified by TEM in banded opal-CT-quartz chert to occur as a result of solid-state ordering. The primary diagenetic silica phase transformations between noncrystalline opal, microcrystalline opal, and quartz occur predominantly by a series of dissolution-precipitation reactions. However, TEM showed that in banded opal-CT-quartz chert, the epitaxial growth of quartz on microfibrous opal enhances the rate of silica diagenesis.« less

  12. Exploiting CELLULOSE SYNTHASE (CESA) Class Specificity to Probe Cellulose Microfibril Biosynthesis.

    PubMed

    Kumar, Manoj; Mishra, Laxmi; Carr, Paul; Pilling, Michael; Gardner, Peter; Mansfield, Shawn D; Turner, Simon

    2018-05-01

    Cellulose microfibrils are the basic units of cellulose in plants. The structure of these microfibrils is at least partly determined by the structure of the cellulose synthase complex. In higher plants, this complex is composed of 18 to 24 catalytic subunits known as CELLULOSE SYNTHASE A (CESA) proteins. Three different classes of CESA proteins are required for cellulose synthesis and for secondary cell wall cellulose biosynthesis these classes are represented by CESA4, CESA7, and CESA8. To probe the relationship between CESA proteins and microfibril structure, we created mutant cesa proteins that lack catalytic activity but retain sufficient structural integrity to allow assembly of the cellulose synthase complex. Using a series of Arabidopsis ( Arabidopsis thaliana ) mutants and genetic backgrounds, we found consistent differences in the ability of these mutant cesa proteins to complement the cellulose-deficient phenotype of the cesa null mutants. The best complementation was observed with catalytically inactive cesa4, while the equivalent mutation in cesa8 exhibited significantly lower levels of complementation. Using a variety of biophysical techniques, including solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier transform infrared microscopy, to study these mutant plants, we found evidence for changes in cellulose microfibril structure, but these changes largely correlated with cellulose content and reflected differences in the relative proportions of primary and secondary cell walls. Our results suggest that individual CESA classes have similar roles in determining cellulose microfibril structure, and it is likely that the different effects of mutating members of different CESA classes are the consequence of their different catalytic activity and their influence on the overall rate of cellulose synthesis. © 2018 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

  13. Microcrystalline silicon growth for heterojunction solar cells

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Iles, P. A.; Leung, D. C.; Fang, P. H.

    1983-01-01

    A total of sixteen runs of e-beam vacuum deposition of p type microcrystalline Si (m-Si) films were attempted on n type or p-n junction single crystalline Si (C-Si) substrates. The m-Si film thickness varied from .15 to .7 um and metal contacts were deposited after plasma hydrogenation. The p-m-Si on n-c-Si structure had a Voc of up to 490 m V while no Voc improvements were observed in the p-m-Si on p-n C-Si structure against p-n controls. Both CFF and Jsc were lower than control. Possible problem areas were interfaced between m-Si and C-si and the back contacts due to lack of sintering for fear of dehydrogenation.

  14. Chapter 1.4: Spatially Resolved Characterization of CNC-Polypropylene composite by Confocal Raman Microscopy

    Treesearch

    Umesh Agarwal; Ronald Sabo; Richard Reiner; Craig Clemons; Alan Rudie

    2013-01-01

    Raman spectroscopy was used to analyze cellulose nanocrystal (CNC)-polypropylene (PP) composites and to investigate the spatial distribution of CNCs in extruded composite filaments. Three composites were made from two forms of nanocellulose (CNCs from wood pulp and the nanoscale fraction of microcrystalline cellulose), and two of the three composites...

  15. Surface functional group dependent apatite formation on bacterial cellulose microfibrils network in a simulated body fluid.

    PubMed

    Nge, Thi Thi; Sugiyama, Junji

    2007-04-01

    The apatite forming ability of biopolymer bacterial cellulose (BC) has been investigated by soaking different BC specimens in a simulated body fluid (1.5 SBF) under physiological conditions, at 37 degrees C and pH 7.4, mimicking the natural process of apatite formation. From ATR-FTIR spectra and ICP-AES analysis, the crystalline phase nucleated on the BC microfibrils surface was calcium deficient carbonated apatite through initial formation of octacalcium phosphate (OCP) or OCP like calcium phosphate phase regardless of the substrates. Morphology of the deposits from SEM, FE-SEM, and TEM observations revealed the fine structure of thin film plates uniting together to form apatite globules of various size (from <1 mum to 3 mum) with respect to the substrates. Surface modification by TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpyperidine-1-oxyl)-mediated oxidation, which can readily form active carboxyl functional groups upon selective oxidation of primary hydroxyl groups on the surface of BC microfibrils, enhanced the rate of apatite nucleation. Ion exchanged treatment with calcium chloride solution after TEMPO-mediated oxidation was found to be remarkably different from other BC substrates with the highest deposit weight and the smallest apatite globules size. The role of BC substrates to induce mineralization rate differs according to the nature of the BC substrates, which strongly influences the growth behavior of the apatite crystals. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Possible participation of transient sheets of 1. -->. 4-. beta. -glucans in the biosynthesis of cellulose I. [Acetobacter xylinum

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Colvin, J.R.

    1983-01-01

    It is suggested that a primary, essential stage in the biologic formation of a microfibril of cellulose I is an extracellular, lateral association of presynthesized (1..-->..4)-..beta..-D-glucans, by hydrogen bonding, to form long, thin sheets. These sheets then superimpose themselves nonenzymatically by London forces to form the nascent microfibril. The ends of the constituent glucans of the nascent microfibril may undergo extension or rearrangement of the type indicated by Maclachlan and colleagues. The formation of the metastable, native structure (cellulose I) may be deduced from the above suggestion as a natural consequence of closest packing of the sheets. The irreversibility ofmore » the change from cellulose I to cellulose II, either by mercerization or regeneration, also follows from the postulate. The suggestion also explains why cellulose microfibrils and chitin microfibrils may be formed contiguously in cell walls without interfering with each other. High-resolution electron micrographs of the tips of newly formed microfibrils of bacterial cellulose which had been very lightly negatively stained with sodium phosphotungstate are consistent with the suggestion. 33 references, 3 figures.« less

  17. Novel proton exchange membranes based on structure-optimized poly(ether ether ketone ketone)s and nanocrystalline cellulose

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ni, Chuangjiang; Wei, Yingcong; Zhao, Qi; Liu, Baijun; Sun, Zhaoyan; Gu, Yan; Zhang, Mingyao; Hu, Wei

    2018-03-01

    Two sulfonated fluorenyl-containing poly(ether ether ketone ketone)s (SFPEEKKs) were synthesized as the matrix of composite proton exchange membranes by directly sulfonating copolymer precursors comprising non-sulfonatable fluorinated segments and sulfonatable fluorenyl-containing segments. Surface-modified nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) was produced as the "performance-enhancing" filler by treating the microcrystalline cellulose with acid. Two families of SFPEEKK/NCC nanocomposite membranes with various NCC contents were prepared via a solution-casting procedure. Results revealed that the insertion of NCC at a suitable ratio could greatly enhance the proton conductivity of the pristine membranes. For example, the proton conductivity of SFPEEKK-60/NCC-4 (SFPEEKK with 60% fluorenyl segments in the repeating unit, and inserted with 4% NCC) composite membrane was as high as 0.245 S cm-1 at 90 °C, which was 61.2% higher than that of the corresponding pure SFPEEKK-60 membrane. This effect could be attributed to the formation of hydrogen bond networks and proton conduction paths through the interaction between -SO3H/-OH groups on the surface of NCC particles and -SO3H groups on the SFPEEKK backbones. Furthermore, the chemically modified NCC filler and the optimized chemical structure of the SFPEEKK matrix also provided good dimensional stability and mechanical properties of the obtained nanocomposites. In conclusion, these novel nanocomposites can be promising proton exchange membranes for fuel cells at moderate temperatures.

  18. Approaching zero cellulose loss in cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) production: recovery and characterization of cellulosic solid residues (CSR) and CNC

    Treesearch

    Q.Q. Wang; J.Y. Zhu; R.S. Reiner; S.P. Verrill; U. Baxa; S.E. McNeil

    2012-01-01

    This study demonstrated the potential of simultaneously recovering cellulosic solid residues (CSR) and producing cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) by strong sulfuric acid hydrolysis to minimize cellulose loss to near zero. A set of slightly milder acid hydrolysis conditions than that considered as “optimal” were used to significantly minimize the degradation of cellulose...

  19. A study of the properties of tablets from coprocessed dry binders composed of alpha-lactose monohydrate and different types of cellulose.

    PubMed

    Muzíková, J; Zvolánková, J

    2007-12-01

    The paper evaluates the differences between the properties of tablets from two coprocessed dry binders based on alpha-lactose monohydrate and cellulose, MicroceLac 100 and Cellactose 80. The substances differ in the type of contained cellulose; MicroceLac 100 contains 25% of microcrystalline cellulose, Cellactose 80, 25% of powdered cellulose. The properties under study included the tensile strength and disintegration time in dependence on compression force, addition of two concentrations of the lubricant sodium stearylfumarate (Pruv) and a 50% addition of the active ingredients ascorbic acid and acetylsalicylic acid. Using one of the compression forces, the effect of Pruv and magnesium stearate on the above-mentioned properties were compared. In the compression forces of 6 and 8 kN the strength of the compacts from pure Cellactose 80 was lower than that of those from MicroceLac 100 both without and with the lubricant. The lubricant sensitivity of dry binders depended on compression force. Pruv decreased the strength of compacts less than magnesium stearate. The tablets from Cellactose 80 possessed a longer disintegration time than those from MicroceLac 100, excepting the tableting materials containing 0.4 Pruv with a compression force of 6 kN. Disintegration time was prolonged with the use of sodium stearylfumarate and it was increased with compression force much more markedly in the case of Cellactose 80. In the presence of ascorbic acid, the strength of tablets was decreased in the case of both dry binders, but it was higher with MicroceLac100, disintegration time was very short and independent of the type of the dry binder. In the case of acetylsalicylic acid, the strength of tablets was higher with a lesser influence of the type of the dry binder, and disintegration time was longer and especially in the case of Cellactose 80 increased with increasing concentration of Pruv.

  20. 77 FR 25720 - Determination That GRIFULVIN V (Griseofulvin Microcrystalline) Tablets, 250 Milligrams, Was Not...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-05-01

    ... been discontinued from marketing for reasons other than safety or effectiveness. ANDAs that refer to... Sale for Reasons of Safety or Effectiveness AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS. ACTION: Notice... microcrystalline) tablets, 250 milligrams (mg), was not withdrawn from sale for reasons of safety or effectiveness...

  1. Microcrystalline diamond cylindrical resonators with quality-factor up to 0.5 million

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Saito, Daisuke; Yang, Chen; Lin, Liwei

    2016-02-01

    We demonstrate high quality-factor 1.5 mm diameter batch-fabricated microcrystalline diamond cylindrical resonators (CR) with quality-factors limited by thermoelastic damping (TED) and surface loss. Resonators were fabricated 2.6 and 5.3 μm thick in-situ boron-doped microcrystalline diamond films deposited using hot filament chemical vapor deposition. The quality-factor (Q) of as-fabricated CR's was found to increase with the resonator diameter and diamond thickness. Annealing the CRs at 700 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere led to a three-fold increase in Q, a result we attribute to thinning of the diamond layer via reaction with residual O{sub 2} in the annealing furnace. Post-anneal Q exceeding 0.5 million (528 000)more » was measured at the 19 kHz elliptical wineglass modes, producing a ring-down time of 8.9 s. A model for Q versus diamond thickness and resonance frequency is developed including the effects of TED and surface loss. Measured quality factors are shown to agree with the predictions of this model.« less

  2. Magnetization and photomagnetic effects in diluted magnetic microcrystalline Cd 1-xMn xTe

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    He, X.-F.; Kotlicki, A.; Dosanjh, P.; Turrell, B. G.; Carolan, J. F.; Jimenez-Sandoval, S.; Lozano-Tovar, P.

    1993-12-01

    We have investigated the magnetic and photomagnetic properties of microcrystalline Cd 1-xMn xTe prepared by rf sputtering. Magnetization measurements were carried out using an rf SQUID magnetometer in the temperature range of 1.8 to 300 K at various magnetic fields up to 5.5 T. For temperatures above 40 K, the sample showed Curie-Weiss behaviour with a Curie temperature indicating predominantly antiferromagnetic interactions. A spin-glass phase transition was also observed. Photomagnetization measurements were performed using a fibre-optic system. The light was shone onto the sample utilizing an optical fibre and the subsequent change in the magnetization was sensed by the SQUID. Photo-induced magnetization was observed when the sample was illuminated by unpolarized light. Our results enable qualitative and quantitative conclusions to be drawn on the magnetic behaviour and the interplay between optical and magnetic properties of the diluted magnetic microcrystalline semiconductors. PACS: 68.55.Gi; 75.50.Pp.

  3. Transfer of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium from contaminated irrigation water to parsley is dependent on curli and cellulose, the biofilm matrix components.

    PubMed

    Lapidot, Anat; Yaron, Sima

    2009-03-01

    Enteric pathogens can contaminate fresh produce, and this contaminated produce can be a significant potential source of human illness. The objective of this study was to determine a possible mode of transfer of Salmonella Typhimurium from contaminated irrigation water to mature parsley plants and to investigate the role of bacterial cellulose and curli. Parsley plants were drip irrigated with water containing green fluorescent protein-labeled Salmonella Typhimurium. Stems and leaves were harvested 1 day after the third irrigation and examined for the presence of Salmonella Typhimurium. Three weeks after harvesting, the presence of Salmonella was again confirmed in the regrown plants. During this period, bacterial numbers on leaves declined from 4.1 (+/- 0.3) to 2.3 (+/- 0.1) log CFU g(-1) (P < 0.05). Numbers in the soil were constant (5 log CFU g(-1)). Results demonstrated the ability of Salmonella Typhimurium to transfer from irrigation water to the edible parts of the plants. Confocal laser scanning microscopic images revealed that Salmonella Typhimurium formed aggregates at a depth of 8 to 32 microm beneath the leaf surface. Penetration might be achieved through the roots or the phyllosphere. The importance of the bacterial cellulose and curli was determined by comparing the wild-type strain with its mutants, which lack the ability to synthesize cellulose and curli. Counts of the double mutant were 2-log higher in the soil but 1-log lower in the leaves (P < 0.05). Deletion of the agfBA gene (for curli) was more effective than deletion of bcsA (for cellulose). Thus, curli and cellulose play a role in the transfer or survival of Salmonella Typhimurium in the plant, as they do for plant pathogens.

  4. Impact of plant matrix polysaccharides on cellulose produced by surface-tethered cellulose synthases.

    PubMed

    Basu, Snehasish; Omadjela, Okako; Zimmer, Jochen; Catchmark, Jeffrey M

    2017-04-15

    Surface immobilized BcsA-B cellulose synthases synthesize crystalline cellulose II under in vitro conditions and were used to explore the interaction between cellulose and hemicelluloses and pectin. The morphology of the cellulose microfibrils changed in the presence of xyloglucan and glucomannan, while pectin did not significantly impact morphology. X-ray diffractometry and FT-IR spectroscopy indicated that crystal size and crystallinity were significantly affected by xyloglucan and glucomannan but not altered by pectin. Glucomannan had the most significant impact on the structure of cellulose and inhibits crystallization. The presence of xyloglucan and glucomannan prevents the proper assembly of cellulose microfibrils and changes the crystalline properties of cellulose II in in vitro conditions, but did not have any impact on cellulose allomorph. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Whey protein aerogel as blended with cellulose crystalline particles or loaded with fish oil.

    PubMed

    Ahmadi, Maede; Madadlou, Ashkan; Saboury, Ali Akbar

    2016-04-01

    Whey protein hydrogels blended with nanocrystalline and microcrystalline cellulose particles (NCC and MCC, respectively) were prepared, followed by freeze-drying, to produce aerogels. NCC blending increased the Young's modulus, and elastic character, of the protein aerogel. Aerogels were microporous and mesoporous materials, as characterized by the pores sizing 1.2 nm and 12.2 nm, respectively. Blending with NCC decreased the count of both microporous and mesoporous-classified pores at the sub-100 nm pore size range investigated. In contrast, MCC blending augmented the specific surface area and pores volume of the aerogel. It also increased moisture sorption affinity of aerogel. The feasibility of conveying hydrophobic nutraceuticals by aerogels was evaluated through loading fish oil into the non-blended aerogel. Oil loading altered its microstructure, corresponding to a peak displacement in Fourier-transform infra-red spectra, which was ascribed to increased hydrophobic interactions. Surface coating of aerogel with zein decreased the oxidation susceptibility of the loaded oil during subsequent storage. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Functional analysis of the Glucan Degradation Locus (GDL) in Caldicellulosiruptor bescii reveals essential roles of component glycoside hydrolases in plant biomass deconstruction.

    PubMed

    Conway, Jonathan M; McKinley, Bennett S; Seals, Nathaniel L; Hernandez, Diana; Khatibi, Piyum A; Poudel, Suresh; Giannone, Richard J; Hettich, Robert L; Williams-Rhaesa, Amanda M; Lipscomb, Gina L; Adams, Michael W W; Kelly, Robert M

    2017-10-06

    The ability to hydrolyze microcrystalline cellulose is an uncommon feature in the microbial world, but one that can be exploited for conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks into bio-based fuels and chemicals. Understanding the physiological and biochemical mechanisms by which microorganisms deconstruct cellulosic material is key to achieving this objective. The Glucan Degradation Locus (GDL) in the genomes of extremely thermophilic Caldicellulosiruptor species encodes polysaccharide lyases (PLs), unique cellulose binding proteins (tāpirins), and putative post-translational modifying enzymes, in addition to multi-domain, multi-functional glycoside hydrolases (GHs), thereby representing an alternative paradigm for plant biomass degradation, as compared to fungal or cellulosomal systems. To examine the individual and collective in vivo roles of the glycolytic enzymes, the six GHs in the GDL of Caldicellulosiruptor bescii were systematically deleted, and the extent to which the resulting mutant strains could solubilize microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel) and plant biomasses (switchgrass or poplar) was examined. Three of the GDL enzymes, Athe_1867 (CelA) (GH9-CBM3-CBM3-CBM3-GH48), Athe_1859 (GH5-CBM3-CBM3-GH44), and Athe_1857 (GH10-CBM3-CBM3-GH48), acted synergistically in vivo and accounted for 92% of naked microcellulose (Avicel) degradation. However, the relative importance of the GDL GHs varied for the plant biomass substrates tested. Furthermore, mixed cultures of mutant strains showed switchgrass solubilization depended on the secretome-bound enzymes collectively produced by the culture and not on the specific strain from which they came. These results demonstrate that certain GDL GHs are primarily responsible for the degradation of microcrystalline-containing substrates by C. bescii and provide new insights into the workings of a novel microbial mechanism for lignocellulose utilization. Importance The efficient and extensive degradation of complex

  7. A synthetic biology approach for evaluating the functional contribution of designer cellulosome components to deconstruction of cellulosic substrates

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Select cellulolytic bacteria produce multi-enzymatic cellulosome complexes that bind to the plant cell wall and catalyze its efficient degradation. The multi-modular interconnecting cellulosomal subunits comprise dockerin-containing enzymes that bind cohesively to cohesin-containing scaffoldins. The organization of the modules into functional polypeptides is achieved by intermodular linkers of different lengths and composition, which provide flexibility to the complex and determine its overall architecture. Results Using a synthetic biology approach, we systematically investigated the spatial organization of the scaffoldin subunit and its effect on cellulose hydrolysis by designing a combinatorial library of recombinant trivalent designer scaffoldins, which contain a carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) and 3 divergent cohesin modules. The positions of the individual modules were shuffled into 24 different arrangements of chimaeric scaffoldins. This basic set was further extended into three sub-sets for each arrangement with intermodular linkers ranging from zero (no linkers), 5 (short linkers) and native linkers of 27–35 amino acids (long linkers). Of the 72 possible scaffoldins, 56 were successfully cloned and 45 of them expressed, representing 14 full sets of chimaeric scaffoldins. The resultant 42-component scaffoldin library was used to assemble designer cellulosomes, comprising three model C. thermocellum cellulases. Activities were examined using Avicel as a pure microcrystalline cellulose substrate and pretreated cellulose-enriched wheat straw as a model substrate derived from a native source. All scaffoldin combinations yielded active trivalent designer cellulosome assemblies on both substrates that exceeded the levels of the free enzyme systems. A preferred modular arrangement for the trivalent designer scaffoldin was not observed for the three enzymes used in this study, indicating that they could be integrated at any position in the designer

  8. Characterization of cellulose structure of Populus plants modified in candidate cellulose biosynthesis genes

    DOE PAGES

    Bali, Garima; Khunsupat, Ratayakorn; Akinosho, Hannah; ...

    2016-09-10

    Here, the recalcitrant nature of lignocellulosic biomass is a combined effect of several factors such as high crystallinity and high degree of polymerization of cellulose, lignin content and structure, and the available surface area for enzymatic degradation (i.e., accessibility). Genetic improvement of feedstock cell wall properties is a path to reducing recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass and improving conversion to various biofuels. An advanced understanding of the cellulose biosynthesis pathway is essential to precisely modify cellulose properties of plant cell walls. Here we report on the impact of modified expression of candidate cellulose biosynthesis pathway genes on the ultra-structure of cellulose,more » a key carbohydrate polymer of Populus cell wall using advanced nuclear magnetic resonance approaches. Noteworthy changes were observed in the cell wall characteristics of downregulated KORRIGAN 1 (KOR) and KOR 2 transgenic plants in comparison to the wild-type control. It was observed that all of the transgenic lines showed variation in cellulose ultrastructure, increase in cellulose crystallinity and decrease in the cellulose degree of polymerization. Additionally, the properties of cellulose allomorph abundance and accessibility were found to be variable. Application of such cellulose characterization techniques beyond the traditional measurement of cellulose abundance to comprehensive studies of cellulose properties in larger transgenic and naturally variable populations is expected to provide deeper insights into the complex nature of lignocellulosic material, which can significantly contribute to the development of precisely tailored plants for enhanced biofuels production.« less

  9. Characterization of cellulose structure of Populus plants modified in candidate cellulose biosynthesis genes

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bali, Garima; Khunsupat, Ratayakorn; Akinosho, Hannah

    Here, the recalcitrant nature of lignocellulosic biomass is a combined effect of several factors such as high crystallinity and high degree of polymerization of cellulose, lignin content and structure, and the available surface area for enzymatic degradation (i.e., accessibility). Genetic improvement of feedstock cell wall properties is a path to reducing recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass and improving conversion to various biofuels. An advanced understanding of the cellulose biosynthesis pathway is essential to precisely modify cellulose properties of plant cell walls. Here we report on the impact of modified expression of candidate cellulose biosynthesis pathway genes on the ultra-structure of cellulose,more » a key carbohydrate polymer of Populus cell wall using advanced nuclear magnetic resonance approaches. Noteworthy changes were observed in the cell wall characteristics of downregulated KORRIGAN 1 (KOR) and KOR 2 transgenic plants in comparison to the wild-type control. It was observed that all of the transgenic lines showed variation in cellulose ultrastructure, increase in cellulose crystallinity and decrease in the cellulose degree of polymerization. Additionally, the properties of cellulose allomorph abundance and accessibility were found to be variable. Application of such cellulose characterization techniques beyond the traditional measurement of cellulose abundance to comprehensive studies of cellulose properties in larger transgenic and naturally variable populations is expected to provide deeper insights into the complex nature of lignocellulosic material, which can significantly contribute to the development of precisely tailored plants for enhanced biofuels production.« less

  10. Cellulose-Enriched Microbial Communities from Leaf-Cutter Ant (Atta colombica) Refuse Dumps Vary in Taxonomic Composition and Degradation Ability

    PubMed Central

    Lewin, Gina R.; Johnson, Amanda L.; Soto, Rolando D. Moreira; Perry, Kailene; Book, Adam J.; Horn, Heidi A.; Pinto-Tomás, Adrián A.; Currie, Cameron R.

    2016-01-01

    Deconstruction of the cellulose in plant cell walls is critical for carbon flow through ecosystems and for the production of sustainable cellulosic biofuels. Our understanding of cellulose deconstruction is largely limited to the study of microbes in isolation, but in nature, this process is driven by microbes within complex communities. In Neotropical forests, microbes in leaf-cutter ant refuse dumps are important for carbon turnover. These dumps consist of decaying plant material and a diverse bacterial community, as shown here by electron microscopy. To study the portion of the community capable of cellulose degradation, we performed enrichments on cellulose using material from five Atta colombica refuse dumps. The ability of enriched communities to degrade cellulose varied significantly across refuse dumps. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing of enriched samples identified that the community structure correlated with refuse dump and with degradation ability. Overall, samples were dominated by Bacteroidetes, Gammaproteobacteria, and Betaproteobacteria. Half of abundant operational taxonomic units (OTUs) across samples were classified within genera containing known cellulose degraders, including Acidovorax, the most abundant OTU detected across samples, which was positively correlated with cellulolytic ability. A representative Acidovorax strain was isolated, but did not grow on cellulose alone. Phenotypic and compositional analyses of enrichment cultures, such as those presented here, help link community composition with cellulolytic ability and provide insight into the complexity of community-based cellulose degradation. PMID:26999749

  11. Chemical and thermal studies on esterification of EDTA with raw cellulose and mercerized cellulose EFB

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Azamkamal, Fatihah; Zakaria, Sarani; Gan, Sinyee; Kaco, Hatika

    2018-04-01

    Oil palm empty fruit bunch fibre (EFB) was bleached using four stages bleaching sequences (DEED) where D was a bleaching process composed of 1.7 wt% NaClO2 and buffer solution while E was composed of NaOH solution. Raw cellulose and mercerized cellulose which treated with 3.5 N sodium hydroxide were used as a raw material for esterification with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and enhancement with acetic acid. The samples of raw cellulose and mercerized cellulose were observed using optical microscope. The thermal properties of raw cellulose and mercerized cellulose esterified with EDTA were studied. The effect of mercerized cellulose on esterification process of EDTA was investigated. The studies suggested that the mercerization process affect the thermal stability of the cellulose. The transmittance of FTIR band showed that raw cellulose gave better esterification product compared to mercerized cellulose. Hence, the mercerization process of cellulose does not improve the esterification of cellulose with EDTA.

  12. A Highly Flexible Supercapacitor Based on MnO2/RGO Nanosheets and Bacterial Cellulose-Filled Gel Electrolyte

    PubMed Central

    Fei, Haojie; Saha, Nabanita; Kazantseva, Natalia; Moucka, Robert; Cheng, Qilin; Saha, Petr

    2017-01-01

    The flexible supercapacitors (SCs) of the conventional sandwich-type structure have poor flexibility due to the large thickness of the final entire device. Herein, we have fabricated a highly flexible asymmetric SC using manganese dioxide (MnO2) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanosheet-piled hydrogel films and a novel bacterial cellulose (BC)-filled polyacrylic acid sodium salt-Na2SO4 (BC/PAAS-Na2SO4) neutral gel electrolyte. Apart from being environmentally friendly, this BC/PAAS-Na2SO4 gel electrolyte has high viscosity and a sticky property, which enables it to combine two electrodes together. Meanwhile, the intertangling of the filled BC in the gel electrolyte hinders the decrease of the viscosity with temperature, and forms a separator to prevent the two electrodes from short-circuiting. Using these materials, the total thickness of the fabricated device does not exceed 120 μm. This SC device demonstrates high flexibility, where bending and even rolling have no obvious effect on the electrochemical performance. In addition, owing to the asymmetric configuration, the cell voltage of this flexible SC has been extended to 1.8 V, and the energy density can reach up to 11.7 Wh kg−1 at the power density of 441 W kg−1. This SC also exhibits a good cycling stability, with a capacitance retention of 85.5% over 5000 cycles. PMID:29084177

  13. Development and characterization of bacterial cellulose reinforced biocomposite films based on protein from buckwheat distiller's dried grains.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xuejiao; Ullah, Niamat; Sun, Xuchun; Guo, Yan; Chen, Lin; Li, Zhixi; Feng, Xianchao

    2017-03-01

    Biocomposite films were manufactured by combining protein extracted from buckwheat distiller's dried grains with bacterial cellulose (BC). The film microstructures showed that BC is compatible with protein matrix and endows the film with high rigidity. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed that BC can promote thermal stability of the composite films. BC promoted the transition from a Newtonian to a non-Newtonian fluid and the shear thinning behavior of protein-BC solution. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy showed the main functional groups' absorption peaks shifted to lower wavenumbers. Results of both FTIR and viscosity analysis proved the formation of intermolecular interactions through hydrogen bonds. These bonds affected film characteristics such as moisture content (MC), water solubility (WS), and water vapor permeability (WVP), which decreased with addition of BC. The WVP (6.68±0.78-5.95±0.54×10 -10 gm/Pasm 2 ) of the films were lower than other protein films. Tensile strength (TS) values of films containing 1.8% and 2.0% BC (14.98±0.97 and 15.03±2.04MPa) were significantly higher than that of pure protein films (4.26±0.66MPa). Combination of proteins extracted from a waste product and BC led to composite films with low water vapor permeability and excellent mechanical properties. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Ionic Liquids and Cellulose: Dissolution, Chemical Modification and Preparation of New Cellulosic Materials

    PubMed Central

    Isik, Mehmet; Sardon, Haritz; Mecerreyes, David

    2014-01-01

    Due to its abundance and a wide range of beneficial physical and chemical properties, cellulose has become very popular in order to produce materials for various applications. This review summarizes the recent advances in the development of new cellulose materials and technologies using ionic liquids. Dissolution of cellulose in ionic liquids has been used to develop new processing technologies, cellulose functionalization methods and new cellulose materials including blends, composites, fibers and ion gels. PMID:25000264

  15. Highly porous regenerated cellulose hydrogel and aerogel prepared from hydrothermal synthesized cellulose carbamate.

    PubMed

    Gan, Sinyee; Zakaria, Sarani; Chia, Chin Hua; Chen, Ruey Shan; Ellis, Amanda V; Kaco, Hatika

    2017-01-01

    Here, a stable derivative of cellulose, called cellulose carbamate (CC), was produced from Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) core pulp (KCP) and urea with the aid of a hydrothermal method. Further investigation was carried out for the amount of nitrogen yielded in CC as different urea concentrations were applied to react with cellulose. The effect of nitrogen concentration of CC on its solubility in a urea-alkaline system was also studied. Regenerated cellulose products (hydrogels and aerogels) were fabricated through the rapid dissolution of CC in a urea-alkaline system. The morphology of the regenerated cellulose products was viewed under Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The transformation of allomorphs in regenerated cellulose products was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The transparency of regenerated cellulose products was determined by Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometer. The degree of swelling (DS) of regenerated cellulose products was also evaluated. This investigation provides a simple and efficient procedure of CC determination which is useful in producing regenerated CC products.

  16. Highly porous regenerated cellulose hydrogel and aerogel prepared from hydrothermal synthesized cellulose carbamate

    PubMed Central

    Gan, Sinyee; Chia, Chin Hua; Chen, Ruey Shan; Ellis, Amanda V.; Kaco, Hatika

    2017-01-01

    Here, a stable derivative of cellulose, called cellulose carbamate (CC), was produced from Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) core pulp (KCP) and urea with the aid of a hydrothermal method. Further investigation was carried out for the amount of nitrogen yielded in CC as different urea concentrations were applied to react with cellulose. The effect of nitrogen concentration of CC on its solubility in a urea-alkaline system was also studied. Regenerated cellulose products (hydrogels and aerogels) were fabricated through the rapid dissolution of CC in a urea-alkaline system. The morphology of the regenerated cellulose products was viewed under Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The transformation of allomorphs in regenerated cellulose products was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The transparency of regenerated cellulose products was determined by Ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectrophotometer. The degree of swelling (DS) of regenerated cellulose products was also evaluated. This investigation provides a simple and efficient procedure of CC determination which is useful in producing regenerated CC products. PMID:28296977

  17. Electrically conductive cellulose composite

    DOEpatents

    Evans, Barbara R.; O'Neill, Hugh M.; Woodward, Jonathan

    2010-05-04

    An electrically conductive cellulose composite includes a cellulose matrix and an electrically conductive carbonaceous material incorporated into the cellulose matrix. The electrical conductivity of the cellulose composite is at least 10 .mu.S/cm at 25.degree. C. The composite can be made by incorporating the electrically conductive carbonaceous material into a culture medium with a cellulose-producing organism, such as Gluconoacetobacter hansenii. The composites can be used to form electrodes, such as for use in membrane electrode assemblies for fuel cells.

  18. Syntrophic association of termite gut bacterial symbionts with bifunctional characteristics of cellulose degrading and polyhydroxyalkanoate producing bacteria.

    PubMed

    Cibichakravarthy, Balasubramanian; Abinaya, Subramani; Prabagaran, Solai Ramatchandirane

    2017-10-01

    The guild between higher termites and their partnership with the diverse community of bacteria and archaea in their gut is a marvel evolutionary achievement. Sustained attempts were made worldwide with a quest for identifying viable important biological macromolecule polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) accumulating bacteria. Termite gut serve as a novel source for bacteria with dual properties like PHA production as well as cellulose degradation. Among 40 isolates cultivated, 32.5% turned positive for PCR based screening of PhaC gene. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that elite PHA producer and cellulose degrader which is phylogenetically affiliated to Bacillus cereus. The PHA production was maximized by employing different carbon and nitrogen sources along with altered pH and temperatures. GC-MS, FTIR and 1 HNMR analyses confirmed the presence of PHA and the thermal characterization was performed through TGA and DSC for the termite gut isolate. Our results indicated that the combined integrative approach using isolated strains from termite gut would be preferable choice in producing biomolecules from cellulosic materials. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  19. Exploiting CELLULOSE SYNTHASE (CESA) Class Specificity to Probe Cellulose Microfibril Biosynthesis1[OPEN

    PubMed Central

    Mishra, Laxmi; Carr, Paul; Gardner, Peter

    2018-01-01

    Cellulose microfibrils are the basic units of cellulose in plants. The structure of these microfibrils is at least partly determined by the structure of the cellulose synthase complex. In higher plants, this complex is composed of 18 to 24 catalytic subunits known as CELLULOSE SYNTHASE A (CESA) proteins. Three different classes of CESA proteins are required for cellulose synthesis and for secondary cell wall cellulose biosynthesis these classes are represented by CESA4, CESA7, and CESA8. To probe the relationship between CESA proteins and microfibril structure, we created mutant cesa proteins that lack catalytic activity but retain sufficient structural integrity to allow assembly of the cellulose synthase complex. Using a series of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) mutants and genetic backgrounds, we found consistent differences in the ability of these mutant cesa proteins to complement the cellulose-deficient phenotype of the cesa null mutants. The best complementation was observed with catalytically inactive cesa4, while the equivalent mutation in cesa8 exhibited significantly lower levels of complementation. Using a variety of biophysical techniques, including solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier transform infrared microscopy, to study these mutant plants, we found evidence for changes in cellulose microfibril structure, but these changes largely correlated with cellulose content and reflected differences in the relative proportions of primary and secondary cell walls. Our results suggest that individual CESA classes have similar roles in determining cellulose microfibril structure, and it is likely that the different effects of mutating members of different CESA classes are the consequence of their different catalytic activity and their influence on the overall rate of cellulose synthesis. PMID:29523715

  20. The Multi Domain Caldicellulosiruptor bescii CelA Cellulase Excels at the Hydrolysis of Crystalline Cellulose

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Brunecky, Roman; Donohoe, Bryon S.; Yarbrough, John M.

    The crystalline nature of cellulose microfibrils is one of the key factors influencing biomass recalcitrance which is a key technical and economic barrier to overcome to make cellulosic biofuels a commercial reality. To date, all known fungal enzymes tested have great difficulty degrading highly crystalline cellulosic substrates. We have demonstrated that the CelA cellulase from Caldicellulosiruptor bescii degrades highly crystalline cellulose as well as low crystallinity substrates making it the only known cellulase to function well on highly crystalline cellulose. Unlike the secretomes of cellulolytic fungi, which typically comprise multiple, single catalytic domain enzymes for biomass degradation, some bacterial systemsmore » employ an alternative strategy that utilizes multi-catalytic domain cellulases. Additionally, CelA is extremely thermostable and highly active at elevated temperatures, unlike commercial fungal cellulases. Furthermore we have determined that the factors negatively affecting digestion of lignocellulosic materials by C. bescii enzyme cocktails containing CelA appear to be significantly different from the performance barriers affecting fungal cellulases. Furthermore, we explore the activity and degradation mechanism of CelA on a variety of pretreated substrates to better understand how the different bulk components of biomass, such as xylan and lignin, impact its performance.« less

  1. The Multi Domain Caldicellulosiruptor bescii CelA Cellulase Excels at the Hydrolysis of Crystalline Cellulose

    DOE PAGES

    Brunecky, Roman; Donohoe, Bryon S.; Yarbrough, John M.; ...

    2017-08-29

    The crystalline nature of cellulose microfibrils is one of the key factors influencing biomass recalcitrance which is a key technical and economic barrier to overcome to make cellulosic biofuels a commercial reality. To date, all known fungal enzymes tested have great difficulty degrading highly crystalline cellulosic substrates. We have demonstrated that the CelA cellulase from Caldicellulosiruptor bescii degrades highly crystalline cellulose as well as low crystallinity substrates making it the only known cellulase to function well on highly crystalline cellulose. Unlike the secretomes of cellulolytic fungi, which typically comprise multiple, single catalytic domain enzymes for biomass degradation, some bacterial systemsmore » employ an alternative strategy that utilizes multi-catalytic domain cellulases. Additionally, CelA is extremely thermostable and highly active at elevated temperatures, unlike commercial fungal cellulases. Furthermore we have determined that the factors negatively affecting digestion of lignocellulosic materials by C. bescii enzyme cocktails containing CelA appear to be significantly different from the performance barriers affecting fungal cellulases. Furthermore, we explore the activity and degradation mechanism of CelA on a variety of pretreated substrates to better understand how the different bulk components of biomass, such as xylan and lignin, impact its performance.« less

  2. Nanomaterials from bacterial cellulose for antimicrobial wound dressing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liyaskina, E.; Revin, V.; Paramonova, E.; Nazarkina, M.; Pestov, N.; Revina, N.; Kolesnikova, S.

    2017-01-01

    Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) is widely used in biomedical applications. BNC has attracted increasing attention as a novel wound dressing material, but it has no antimicrobial activity. To get over this problem in the present study the BNC was saturated with antibiotic fusidic acid (FA). The subject of the experiment was BNC, produced by bacteria Gluconacetobacter sucrofermentans B-11267. The resulting biocomposites have high antibiotic activity against Staphylococcus aureus and can be used in medicine as a wound dressing. The structure of BNC was analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).

  3. Cellulose-Enriched Microbial Communities from Leaf-Cutter Ant (Atta colombica) Refuse Dumps Vary in Taxonomic Composition and Degradation Ability

    DOE PAGES

    Lewin, Gina R.; Johnson, Amanda L.; Soto, Rolando D. Moreira; ...

    2016-03-21

    Deconstruction of the cellulose in plant cell walls is critical for carbon flow through ecosystems and for the production of sustainable cellulosic biofuels. Our understanding of cellulose deconstruction is largely limited to the study of microbes in isolation, but in nature, this process is driven by microbes within complex communities. In Neotropical forests, microbes in leaf-cutter ant refuse dumps are important for carbon turnover. These dumps consist of decaying plant material and a diverse bacterial community, as shown here by electron microscopy. To study the portion of the community capable of cellulose degradation, we performed enrichments on cellulose using materialmore » from five Atta colombica refuse dumps. The ability of enriched communities to degrade cellulose varied significantly across refuse dumps. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing of enriched samples identified that the community structure correlated with refuse dump and with degradation ability. Overall, samples were dominated by Bacteroidetes, Gammaproteobacteria, and Betaproteobacteria. Half of abundant operational taxonomic units (OTUs) across samples were classified within general containing known cellulose degraders, including Acidovorax, the most abundant OTU detected across samples, which was positively correlated with cellulolytic ability. Lastly, a representative Acidovorax strain was isolated, but did not grow on cellulose alone. Phenotypic and compositional analyses of enrichment cultures, such as those presented here, help link community composition with cellulolytic ability and provide insight into the complexity of community-based cellulose degradation.« less

  4. Cellulose-Enriched Microbial Communities from Leaf-Cutter Ant (Atta colombica) Refuse Dumps Vary in Taxonomic Composition and Degradation Ability

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lewin, Gina R.; Johnson, Amanda L.; Soto, Rolando D. Moreira

    Deconstruction of the cellulose in plant cell walls is critical for carbon flow through ecosystems and for the production of sustainable cellulosic biofuels. Our understanding of cellulose deconstruction is largely limited to the study of microbes in isolation, but in nature, this process is driven by microbes within complex communities. In Neotropical forests, microbes in leaf-cutter ant refuse dumps are important for carbon turnover. These dumps consist of decaying plant material and a diverse bacterial community, as shown here by electron microscopy. To study the portion of the community capable of cellulose degradation, we performed enrichments on cellulose using materialmore » from five Atta colombica refuse dumps. The ability of enriched communities to degrade cellulose varied significantly across refuse dumps. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing of enriched samples identified that the community structure correlated with refuse dump and with degradation ability. Overall, samples were dominated by Bacteroidetes, Gammaproteobacteria, and Betaproteobacteria. Half of abundant operational taxonomic units (OTUs) across samples were classified within general containing known cellulose degraders, including Acidovorax, the most abundant OTU detected across samples, which was positively correlated with cellulolytic ability. Lastly, a representative Acidovorax strain was isolated, but did not grow on cellulose alone. Phenotypic and compositional analyses of enrichment cultures, such as those presented here, help link community composition with cellulolytic ability and provide insight into the complexity of community-based cellulose degradation.« less

  5. Enhancement of biogas production from microalgal biomass through cellulolytic bacterial pretreatment.

    PubMed

    Kavitha, S; Subbulakshmi, P; Rajesh Banu, J; Gobi, Muthukaruppan; Tae Yeom, Ick

    2017-06-01

    Generation of bioenergy from microalgal biomass has been a focus of interest in recent years. The recalcitrant nature of microalgal biomass owing to its high cellulose content limits methane generation. Thus, the present study investigates the effect of bacterial-based biological pretreatment on liquefaction of the microalga Chlorella vulgaris prior to anaerobic biodegradation to gain insights into energy efficient biomethanation. Liquefaction of microalgae resulted in a higher biomass stress index of about 18% in the experimental (pretreated with cellulose-secreting bacteria) vs. 11.8% in the control (non-pretreated) group. Mathematical modelling of the biomethanation studies implied that bacterial pretreatment had a greater influence on sustainable methane recovery, with a methane yield of about 0.08 (g Chemical Oxygen Demand/g Chemical Oxygen Demand), than did control pretreatment, with a yield of 0.04 (g Chemical Oxygen Demand/g Chemical Oxygen Demand). Energetic analysis of the proposed method of pretreatment showed a positive energy ratio of 1.04. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Nanomechanics of cellulose crystals and cellulose-based polymer composites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pakzad, Anahita

    Cellulose-polymer composites have potential applications in aerospace and transportation areas where lightweight materials with high mechanical properties are needed. In addition, these economical and biodegradable composites have been shown to be useful as polymer electrolytes, packaging structures, optoelectronic devices, and medical implants such as wound dressing and bone scaffolds. In spite of the above mentioned advantages and potential applications, due to the difficulties associated with synthesis and processing techniques, application of cellulose crystals (micro and nano sized) for preparation of new composite systems is limited. Cellulose is hydrophilic and polar as opposed to most of common thermoplastics, which are non-polar. This results in complications in addition of cellulose crystals to polymer matrices, and as a result in achieving sufficient dispersion levels, which directly affects the mechanical properties of the composites. As in other composite materials, the properties of cellulose-polymer composites depend on the volume fraction and the properties of individual phases (the reinforcement and the polymer matrix), the dispersion quality of the reinforcement through the matrix and the interaction between CNCs themselves and CNC and the matrix (interphase). In order to develop economical cellulose-polymer composites with superior qualities, the properties of individual cellulose crystals, as well as the effect of dispersion of reinforcements and the interphase on the properties of the final composites should be understood. In this research, the mechanical properties of CNC polymer composites were characterized at the macro and nano scales. A direct correlation was made between: - Dispersion quality and macro-mechanical properties - Nanomechanical properties at the surface and tensile properties - CNC diameter and interphase thickness. Lastly, individual CNCs from different sources were characterized and for the first time size-scale effect on

  7. Enzymatic production of ethanol from cellulose using soluble cellulose acetate as an intermediate

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Downing, K.M.; Ho, C.S.; Zabriskie, D.W.

    1987-01-01

    A two-stage process for the enzymatic conversion of cellulose to ethanol is proposed as an alternative to currently incomplete and relatively slow enzymatic conversion processes employing natural insoluble cellulose. This alternative approach is designed to promote faster and more complete conversion of cellulose to fermentable sugars through the use of a homogeneous enzymatic hydrolysis reaction. Cellulose is chemically dissolved in the first stage to form water-soluble cellulose acetate (WSCA). The WSCA is then converted to ethanol in a simultaneous saccharification-fermentation with Pestalotiopsis westerdijkii enzymes (containing cellulolytic and acetyl esterase components) and yeast.

  8. CelR, an Ortholog of the Diguanylate Cyclase PleD of Caulobacter, Regulates Cellulose Synthesis in Agrobacterium tumefaciens

    PubMed Central

    Barnhart, D. Michael; Su, Shengchang; Baccaro, Brenna E.; Banta, Lois M.

    2013-01-01

    Cellulose fibrils play a role in attachment of Agrobacterium tumefaciens to its plant host. While the genes for cellulose biosynthesis in the bacterium have been identified, little is known concerning the regulation of the process. The signal molecule cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP) has been linked to the regulation of exopolysaccharide biosynthesis in many bacterial species, including A. tumefaciens. In this study, we identified two putative diguanylate cyclase genes, celR (atu1297) and atu1060, that influence production of cellulose in A. tumefaciens. Overexpression of either gene resulted in increased cellulose production, while deletion of celR, but not atu1060, resulted in decreased cellulose biosynthesis. celR overexpression also affected other phenotypes, including biofilm formation, formation of a polar adhesion structure, plant surface attachment, and virulence, suggesting that the gene plays a role in regulating these processes. Analysis of celR and Δcel mutants allowed differentiation between phenotypes associated with cellulose production, such as biofilm formation, and phenotypes probably resulting from c-di-GMP signaling, which include polar adhesion, attachment to plant tissue, and virulence. Phylogenetic comparisons suggest that species containing both celR and celA, which encodes the catalytic subunit of cellulose synthase, adapted the CelR protein to regulate cellulose production while those that lack celA use CelR, called PleD, to regulate specific processes associated with polar localization and cell division. PMID:24038703

  9. Time-resolved X-ray diffraction microprobe studies of the conversion of cellulose I to ethylenediamine-cellulose I

    PubMed Central

    Nishiyama, Yoshiharu; Wada, Masahisa; Hanson, B. Leif

    2012-01-01

    Structural changes during the treatment of films of highly crystalline microfibers of Cladophora cellulose with ethylenediamine (EDA) have been studied by time-resolved X-ray microprobe diffraction methods. As EDA penetrates the sample and converts cellulose I to EDA-cellulose I, the measured profile widths of reflections reveal changes in the shapes and average dimensions of cellulose I and EDA-cellulose I crystals. The (200) direction of cellulose I is most resistant to EDA penetration, with EDA penetrating most effectively at the hydrophilic edges of the hydrogen bonded sheets of cellulose chains. Most of the cellulose chains in the initial crystals of cellulose I are incorporated into crystals of EDA-cellulose I. The size of the emerging EDA-cellulose I crystals is limited to about half of their size in cellulose I, most likely due to strains introduced by the penetration of EDA molecules. There is no evidence of any gradual structural transition from cellulose I to EDA-cellulose I involving a continuously changing intermediate phase. Rather, the results point to a rapid transition to EDA-cellulose I in regions of the microfibrils that have been penetrated by EDA. PMID:22693365

  10. Biofilm formation and cellulose expression among diverse environmental Pseudomonas isolates.

    PubMed

    Ude, Susanne; Arnold, Dawn L; Moon, Christina D; Timms-Wilson, Tracey; Spiers, Andrew J

    2006-11-01

    The ability to form biofilms is seen as an increasingly important colonization strategy among both pathogenic and environmental bacteria. A survey of 185 plant-associated, phytopathogenic, soil and river Pseudomonas isolates resulted in 76% producing biofilms at the air-liquid (A-L) interface after selection in static microcosms. Considerable variation in biofilm phenotype was observed, including waxy aggregations, viscous and floccular masses, and physically cohesive biofilms with continuously varying strengths over 1500-fold. Calcofluor epifluorescent microscopy identified cellulose as the matrix component in biofilms produced by Pseudomonas asplenii, Pseudomonas corrugata, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas marginalis, Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas savastanoi and Pseudomonas syringae isolates. Cellulose expression and biofilm formation could be induced by the constitutively active WspR19 mutant of the cyclic-di-GMP-associated, GGDEF domain-containing response regulator involved in the P. fluorescens SBW25 wrinkly spreader phenotype and cellular aggregation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01. WspR19 could also induce P. putida KT2440, which otherwise did not produce a biofilm or express cellulose, as well as Escherichia coli K12 and Salmonella typhimurium LT2, both of which express cellulose yet lack WspR homologues. Statistical analysis of biofilm parameters suggest that biofilm development is a more complex process than that simply described by the production of attachment and matrix components and bacterial growth. This complexity was also seen in multivariate analysis as a species-ecological habitat effect, underscoring the fact that in vitro biofilms are abstractions of those surface and volume colonization processes used by bacteria in their natural environments.

  11. Cellulose Synthesis and Its Regulation

    PubMed Central

    Li, Shundai; Bashline, Logan; Lei, Lei; Gu, Ying

    2014-01-01

    Cellulose, the most abundant biopolymer synthesized on land, is made of linear chains of ß (1–4) linked D-glucose. As a major structural component of the cell wall, cellulose is important not only for industrial use but also for plant growth and development. Cellulose microfibrils are tethered by other cell wall polysaccharides such as hemicellulose, pectin, and lignin. In higher plants, cellulose is synthesized by plasma membrane-localized rosette cellulose synthase complexes. Despite the recent advances using a combination of molecular genetics, live cell imaging, and spectroscopic tools, many aspects of the cellulose synthesis remain a mystery. In this chapter, we highlight recent research progress towards understanding the mechanism of cellulose synthesis in Arabidopsis. PMID:24465174

  12. Long-Term Enrichment on Cellulose or Xylan Causes Functional and Taxonomic Convergence of Microbial Communities from Anaerobic Digesters

    PubMed Central

    Jia, Yangyang; Wilkins, David; Lu, Hongyuan; Cai, Mingwei

    2015-01-01

    Cellulose and xylan are two major components of lignocellulosic biomass, which represents a potentially important energy source, as it is abundant and can be converted to methane by microbial action. However, it is recalcitrant to hydrolysis, and the establishment of a complete anaerobic digestion system requires a specific repertoire of microbial functions. In this study, we maintained 2-year enrichment cultures of anaerobic digestion sludge amended with cellulose or xylan to investigate whether a cellulose- or xylan-digesting microbial system could be assembled from sludge previously used to treat neither of them. While efficient methane-producing communities developed under mesophilic (35°C) incubation, they did not under thermophilic (55°C) conditions. Illumina amplicon sequencing results of the archaeal and bacterial 16S rRNA genes revealed that the mature cultures were much lower in richness than the inocula and were dominated by single archaeal (genus Methanobacterium) and bacterial (order Clostridiales) groups, although at finer taxonomic levels the bacteria were differentiated by substrates. Methanogenesis was primarily via the hydrogenotrophic pathway under all conditions, although the identity and growth requirements of syntrophic acetate-oxidizing bacteria were unclear. Incubation conditions (substrate and temperature) had a much greater effect than inoculum source in shaping the mature microbial community, although analysis based on unweighted UniFrac distance found that the inoculum still determined the pool from which microbes could be enriched. Overall, this study confirmed that anaerobic digestion sludge treating nonlignocellulosic material is a potential source of microbial cellulose- and xylan-digesting functions given appropriate enrichment conditions. PMID:26712547

  13. TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Isogai, Akira; Saito, Tsuguyuki; Fukuzumi, Hayaka

    2011-01-01

    Native wood celluloses can be converted to individual nanofibers 3-4 nm wide that are at least several microns in length, i.e. with aspect ratios >100, by TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical)-mediated oxidation and successive mild disintegration in water. Preparation methods and fundamental characteristics of TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibers (TOCN) are reviewed in this paper. Significant amounts of C6 carboxylate groups are selectively formed on each cellulose microfibril surface by TEMPO-mediated oxidation without any changes to the original crystallinity (~74%) or crystal width of wood celluloses. Electrostatic repulsion and/or osmotic effects working between anionically-charged cellulose microfibrils, the ζ-potentials of which are approximately -75 mV in water, cause the formation of completely individualized TOCN dispersed in water by gentle mechanical disintegration treatment of TEMPO-oxidized wood cellulose fibers. Self-standing TOCN films are transparent and flexible, with high tensile strengths of 200-300 MPa and elastic moduli of 6-7 GPa. Moreover, TOCN-coated poly(lactic acid) films have extremely low oxygen permeability. The new cellulose-based nanofibers formed by size reduction process of native cellulose fibers by TEMPO-mediated oxidation have potential application as environmentally friendly and new bio-based nanomaterials in high-tech fields.

  14. Acoustic Properties of Cellulose

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trematerra, Amelia; Lombardi, Ilaria

    2017-08-01

    Cellulose is the oldest material for thermal insulation in construction field. Thomas Jefferson was the first architect that used the cellulose in his project of the Monticello house (1800). But only after 1945 that the cellulose from newsprint was used across America and northern Europe. In the 70s with the energy crisis it Austria, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Germany began the production of cellulose derived from paper newspapers. It used for both winter and summer thermal insulation, while respecting the environment. In this paper are reported acoustic measurements carried out with the tube of Kundt, with the cellulose melted and with glue with different thicknesses.

  15. The cyclic-di-GMP phosphodiesterase BinA negatively regulates cellulose-containing biofilms in Vibrio fischeri.

    PubMed

    Bassis, Christine M; Visick, Karen L

    2010-03-01

    Bacteria produce different types of biofilms under distinct environmental conditions. Vibrio fischeri has the capacity to produce at least two distinct types of biofilms, one that relies on the symbiosis polysaccharide Syp and another that depends upon cellulose. A key regulator of biofilm formation in bacteria is the intracellular signaling molecule cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP). In this study, we focused on a predicted c-di-GMP phosphodiesterase encoded by the gene binA, located directly downstream of syp, a cluster of 18 genes critical for biofilm formation and the initiation of symbiotic colonization of the squid Euprymna scolopes. Disruption or deletion of binA increased biofilm formation in culture and led to increased binding of Congo red and calcofluor, which are indicators of cellulose production. Using random transposon mutagenesis, we determined that the phenotypes of the DeltabinA mutant strain could be disrupted by insertions in genes in the bacterial cellulose biosynthesis cluster (bcs), suggesting that cellulose production is negatively regulated by BinA. Replacement of critical amino acids within the conserved EAL residues of the EAL domain disrupted BinA activity, and deletion of binA increased c-di-GMP levels in the cell. Together, these data support the hypotheses that BinA functions as a phosphodiesterase and that c-di-GMP activates cellulose biosynthesis. Finally, overexpression of the syp regulator sypG induced binA expression. Thus, this work reveals a mechanism by which V. fischeri inhibits cellulose-dependent biofilm formation and suggests that the production of two different polysaccharides may be coordinated through the action of the cellulose inhibitor BinA.

  16. Method for separating the non-inked cellulose fibers from the inked cellulose fibers in cellulosic materials

    DOEpatents

    Woodward, Jonathan

    1998-01-01

    A method for enzymatically separating the non-inked cellulose fibers from the inked cellulose fibers in cellulosic materials. The cellulosic material, such as newsprint, is introduced into a first chamber containing a plastic canvas basket. This first chamber is in fluid communication, via plastic tubing, with a second chamber containing cellobiase beads in a plastic canvas basket. Cellulase is then introduced into the first chamber. A programmable pump then controls the flow rate between the two chambers. The action of cellulase and stirring in the first chamber results in the production of a slurry of newsprint pulp in the first chamber. This slurry contains non-inked fibers, inked fibers, and some cellobiose. The inked fibers and cellobiose flow from the first chamber to the second chamber, whereas the non-inked fibers remain in the first chamber because they are too large to pass through the pores of the plastic canvas basket. The resulting non-inked and inked fibers are then recovered.

  17. Method for separating the non-inked cellulose fibers from the inked cellulose fibers in cellulosic materials

    DOEpatents

    Woodward, J.

    1998-12-01

    A method for enzymatically separating the non-inked cellulose fibers from the inked cellulose fibers in cellulosic materials. The cellulosic material, such as newsprint, is introduced into a first chamber containing a plastic canvas basket. This first chamber is in fluid communication, via plastic tubing, with a second chamber containing cellobiase beads in a plastic canvas basket. Cellulase is then introduced into the first chamber. A programmable pump then controls the flow rate between the two chambers. The action of cellulase and stirring in the first chamber results in the production of a slurry of newsprint pulp in the first chamber. This slurry contains non-inked fibers, inked fibers, and some cellobiose. The inked fibers and cellobiose flow from the first chamber to the second chamber, whereas the non-inked fibers remain in the first chamber because they are too large to pass through the pores of the plastic canvas basket. The resulting non-inked and inked fibers are then recovered. 6 figs.

  18. Synthesis, Characterization, and Antimicrobial Efficacy of Photomicrobicidal Cellulose Paper.

    PubMed

    Carpenter, Bradley L; Scholle, Frank; Sadeghifar, Hasan; Francis, Aaron J; Boltersdorf, Jonathan; Weare, Walter W; Argyropoulos, Dimitris S; Maggard, Paul A; Ghiladi, Reza A

    2015-08-10

    Toward our goal of scalable, antimicrobial materials based on photodynamic inactivation, paper sheets comprised of photosensitizer-conjugated cellulose fibers were prepared using porphyrin and BODIPY photosensitizers, and characterized by spectroscopic (infrared, UV-vis diffuse reflectance, inductively coupled plasma optical emission) and physical (gel permeation chromatography, elemental, and thermal gravimetric analyses) methods. Antibacterial efficacy was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC-2913), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (ATCC-2320), Acinetobacter baumannii (ATCC-19606), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC-9027), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC-2146). Our best results were achieved with a cationic porphyrin-paper conjugate, Por((+))-paper, with inactivation upon illumination (30 min, 65 ± 5 mW/cm(2), 400-700 nm) of all bacterial strains studied by 99.99+% (4 log units), regardless of taxonomic classification. Por((+))-paper also inactivated dengue-1 virus (>99.995%), influenza A (∼ 99.5%), and human adenovirus-5 (∼ 99%). These results demonstrate the potential of cellulose materials to serve as scalable scaffolds for anti-infective or self-sterilizing materials against both bacteria and viruses when employing a photodynamic inactivation mode of action.

  19. Effects of Dilute Acid Pretreatment on Cellulose DP and the Relationship Between DP Reduction and Cellulose Digestibility

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wang, W.; Chen, X.; Tucker, M.

    2012-01-01

    The degree of polymerization(DP) of cellulose is considered to be one of the most important properties affecting the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose. Various pure cellulosic and biomass materials have been used in a study of the effect of dilute acid treatment on cellulose DP. A substantial reduction in DP was found for all pure cellulosic materials studied even at conditions that would be considered relatively mild for pretreatment. The effect of dilute acid pretreatment on cellulose DP in biomass samples was also investigated. Corn stover pretreated with dilute acid under the most optimal conditions contained cellulose with a DPw inmore » the range of 1600{approx}3500, which is much higher than the level-off DP(DPw 150{approx}300) obtained with pure celluloses. The effect of DP reduction on the saccharification of celluloses was also studied. From this study it does not appear that cellulose DP is a main factor affecting cellulose saccharification.« less

  20. Effect of silane/hydrogen ratio on microcrystalline silicon thin films by remote inductively coupled plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guo, Y. N.; Wei, D. Y.; Xiao, S. Q.; Huang, S. Y.; Zhou, H. P.; Xu, S.

    2013-05-01

    Hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) thin films were prepared by remote low frequency inductively coupled plasma (ICP) chemical vapor deposition system, and the effect of silane/hydrogen ratio on the microstructure and electrical properties of μc-Si:H films was systematically investigated. As silane/hydrogen ratio increases, the crystalline volume fraction Fc decreases and the ratio of the intensity of (220) peak to that of (111) peak drops as silane flow rate is increased. The FTIR result indicates that the μc-Si:H films prepared by remote ICP have a high optical response with a low hydrogen content, which is in favor of reducing light-induced degradation effect. Furthermore, the processing window of the phase transition region for remote ICP is much wider than that for typical ICP. The photosensitivity of μc-Si:H films can exceed 100 at the transition region and this ensures the possibility of the fabrication of microcrystalline silicon thin film solar cells with a open-circuit voltage of about 700 mV.

  1. From Cellulose Nanospheres, Nanorods to Nanofibers: Various Aspect Ratio Induced Nucleation/Reinforcing Effects on Polylactic Acid for Robust-Barrier Food Packaging.

    PubMed

    Yu, Hou-Yong; Zhang, Heng; Song, Mei-Li; Zhou, Ying; Yao, Juming; Ni, Qing-Qing

    2017-12-20

    The traditional approach toward improving the crystallization rate as well as the mechanical and barrier properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is the incorporation of nanocelluloses (NCs). Unfortunately, little study has been focused on the influence of the differences in NC morphology and dimensions on the PLA property enhancement. Here, by HCOOH/HCl hydrolysis of lyocell fibers, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), and ginger fibers, we unveil the preparation of cellulose nanospheres (CNS), rod-like cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), and cellulose nanofibers (CNF) with different aspect ratios, respectively. All the NC surfaces were chemically modified by Fischer esterification with hydrophobic formate groups to improve the NC dispersion in the PLA matrix. This study systematically compared CNS, CNC, and CNF as reinforcing agents to induce different kinds of heterogeneous nucleation and reinforce the effects on the properties of PLA. The incorporation of three NCs can greatly improve the PLA crystallization ability, thermal stability, and mechanical strength of nanocomposites. At the same NC loading level, the PLA/CNS showed the highest crystallinity (19.8 ± 0.4%) with a smaller spherulite size (33 ± 1.5 μm), indicating that CNS, with its high specific surface area, can induce a stronger heterogeneous nucleation effect on the PLA crystallization than CNC or CNF. Instead, compared to PLA, the PLA/CNF nanocomposites gave the largest Young's modulus increase of 350 %, due to the larger aspect ratio/rigidity of CNF and their interlocking or percolation network caused by filler-matrix interfacial bonds. Furthermore, taking these factors of hydrogen bonding interaction, increased crystallinity, and interfacial tortuosity into account, the PLA/CNC nanocomposite films showed the best barrier property against water vapor and lowest migration levels in two liquid food simulates (well below 60 mg kg -1 for required overall migration in packaging) than CNS- and CNF-based films

  2. Brittle Culm1, a COBRA-Like Protein, Functions in Cellulose Assembly through Binding Cellulose Microfibrils

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Baocai; Liu, Xiangling; Yan, Meixian; Zhang, Lanjun; Shi, Yanyun; Zhang, Mu; Qian, Qian; Li, Jiayang; Zhou, Yihua

    2013-01-01

    Cellulose represents the most abundant biopolymer in nature and has great economic importance. Cellulose chains pack laterally into crystalline forms, stacking into a complicated crystallographic structure. However, the mechanism of cellulose crystallization is poorly understood. Here, via functional characterization, we report that Brittle Culm1 (BC1), a COBRA-like protein in rice, modifies cellulose crystallinity. BC1 was demonstrated to be a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchored protein and can be released into cell walls by removal of the GPI anchor. BC1 possesses a carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) at its N-terminus. In vitro binding assays showed that this CBM interacts specifically with crystalline cellulose, and several aromatic residues in this domain are essential for binding. It was further demonstrated that cell wall-localized BC1 via the CBM and GPI anchor is one functional form of BC1. X-ray diffraction (XRD) assays revealed that mutations in BC1 and knockdown of BC1 expression decrease the crystallite width of cellulose; overexpression of BC1 and the CBM-mutated BC1s caused varied crystallinity with results that were consistent with the in vitro binding assay. Moreover, interaction between the CBM and cellulose microfibrils was largely repressed when the cell wall residues were pre-stained with two cellulose dyes. Treating wild-type and bc1 seedlings with the dyes resulted in insensitive root growth responses in bc1 plants. Combined with the evidence that BC1 and three secondary wall cellulose synthases (CESAs) function in different steps of cellulose production as revealed by genetic analysis, we conclude that BC1 modulates cellulose assembly by interacting with cellulose and affecting microfibril crystallinity. PMID:23990797

  3. Brittle Culm1, a COBRA-like protein, functions in cellulose assembly through binding cellulose microfibrils.

    PubMed

    Liu, Lifeng; Shang-Guan, Keke; Zhang, Baocai; Liu, Xiangling; Yan, Meixian; Zhang, Lanjun; Shi, Yanyun; Zhang, Mu; Qian, Qian; Li, Jiayang; Zhou, Yihua

    2013-01-01

    Cellulose represents the most abundant biopolymer in nature and has great economic importance. Cellulose chains pack laterally into crystalline forms, stacking into a complicated crystallographic structure. However, the mechanism of cellulose crystallization is poorly understood. Here, via functional characterization, we report that Brittle Culm1 (BC1), a COBRA-like protein in rice, modifies cellulose crystallinity. BC1 was demonstrated to be a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchored protein and can be released into cell walls by removal of the GPI anchor. BC1 possesses a carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) at its N-terminus. In vitro binding assays showed that this CBM interacts specifically with crystalline cellulose, and several aromatic residues in this domain are essential for binding. It was further demonstrated that cell wall-localized BC1 via the CBM and GPI anchor is one functional form of BC1. X-ray diffraction (XRD) assays revealed that mutations in BC1 and knockdown of BC1 expression decrease the crystallite width of cellulose; overexpression of BC1 and the CBM-mutated BC1s caused varied crystallinity with results that were consistent with the in vitro binding assay. Moreover, interaction between the CBM and cellulose microfibrils was largely repressed when the cell wall residues were pre-stained with two cellulose dyes. Treating wild-type and bc1 seedlings with the dyes resulted in insensitive root growth responses in bc1 plants. Combined with the evidence that BC1 and three secondary wall cellulose synthases (CESAs) function in different steps of cellulose production as revealed by genetic analysis, we conclude that BC1 modulates cellulose assembly by interacting with cellulose and affecting microfibril crystallinity.

  4. Studies on the compressibility of wax matrix granules of acetaminophen and their admixtures with various tableting bases.

    PubMed

    Uhumwangho, M U; Okor, R S

    2006-04-01

    Matrix granules of acetaminophen have been formed by a melt granulation process whereby the acetaminophen powder was triturated with the melted wax--goat wax, glyceryl monostearate or carnuba wax. The compressibility of the matrix granules and their admixture, with diluent granules (lactose, alpha-cellulose or microcrystalline cellulose) was investigated. The granules were compressed to tablets at a constant load (30 arbitrary units on the load scale) of a manesty single punch machine. Resulting tablets were evaluated for tensile strength (T) and disintegration times (DT). Granule flow was determined by measuring their angle of repose when allowed to fall freely on a level surface. Matrix granules prepared by melt granulation with goat wax or glyceryl monostearate were too sticky and therefore did not flow at all. They were also poorly compressible (T values = 0.20MN/m2). Inclusion of the diluent remarkably improved granule flow property and compressibility. The T values of the tablets (measure of compressibility) increased from about 0.24 to 0.65 MN/m2 during increase in diluent (lactose) content from 20 to 80 %w/w. Microcrystalline cellulose and alpha-cellulose were more effective than lactose in promoting compressibility of the granules. By contrast the matrix granules formed with carnuba wax were free flowing (angle of repose, 18.60). Addition of the diluent further improved flowability slightly. The matrix granules (without a diluent) were readily compressible (T value, 1.79MN/m2). Addition of the diluent (80%w/w) reduced T values (MN/m2) slightly to 1.32 (lactose), 1.48 (alpha-cellulose) and 1.74 (microcrystalline cellulose). Tablets of the matrix granules only, disintegrated rapidly within 3 minutes. DT was further reduced to <30 s by addition of any of the diluents. The indication is that the inclusion of the diluents studied can be used to improve the compressibility of the otherwise poorly compressible matrix granules. Based on the flowability

  5. Synthesis of Ag-NPs impregnated cellulose composite material: its possible role in wound healing and photocatalysis.

    PubMed

    Ali, Attarad; Haq, Ihsan Ul; Akhtar, Javeed; Sher, Muhammad; Ahmed, Naveed; Zia, Muhammad

    2017-06-01

    Cellulose is the natural biopolymer normally used as supporting agent with enhanced applicability and properties. In present study, cellulose isolated from citrus waste is used for silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) impregnation by a simple and reproducible method. The Ag-NPs fabricated cellulose (Ag-Cel) was characterised by powder X-rays diffraction, Fortier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The thermal stability was studied by thermo-gravimetric analysis. The antibacterial activity performed by disc diffusion assay reveals good zone of inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli by Ag-Cel as compared Ag-NPs. The discs also displayed more than 90% reduction of S. aureus culture in broth within 150 min. The Ag-Cel discs also demonstrated minor 2,2-diphenyl 1-picryl-hydrazyl radical scavenging activity and total reducing power ability while moderate total antioxidant potential was observed. Ag-Cel effectively degrades methylene-blue dye up to 63.16% under sunlight irradiation in limited exposure time of 60 min. The Ag-NPs impregnated cellulose can be effectively used in wound dressing to prevent bacterial attack and scavenger of free radicals at wound site, and also as filters for bioremediation and wastewater purification.

  6. Preliminary studies of the development of a direct compression cellulose excipient from bagasse.

    PubMed

    Padmadisastra, Y; Gonda, I

    1989-06-01

    Bagasse is an unused by-product in cane sugar manufacture. Bagasse from sugar cane manually harvested in Indonesia was transformed to pulp by mechanical means and repeated autoclaving in 1.4% NaOH. It was then subjected to cycles of bleaching with hypochlorite and acid hydrolysis with 2.5 M HCl to produce 'microcrystalline' cellulose (MCC). Extraction of waxes by petroleum ether was necessary in order to improve the disintegration properties of tablets made from this material, DICEB III. When the bagasse-derived cellulose was reconstituted by recombining different proportions of selected sieve cuts to have a similar sieve size distribution as the commercially available MCC, Avicel PH102, it was found that the latter and DICEB III also had similar crystallinity as measured by X-ray powder diffraction (degree of crystallinity 2.8 +/- 0.2). The crystallinity and flow index were also relatively insensitive to most of the changes in the manufacturing procedure, indicating that the production process was quite robust. Directly compressed tablets were made containing 50 mg of caffeine and 500 mg of either Avicel PH102 or DICEB III to approximately the same hardness (11.6 +/- 1.1 and 13.7 +/- 0.5 kPa, respectively). They displayed similar satisfactory disintegration and dissolution behavior. However, DICEB III required greater compaction pressures than Avicel PH102, perhaps because the former was not spray dried to give spherical agglomerates of particles of uniform size as the commercial product. Rather, DICEB III consisted mainly of single irregular particles. Further work is required to improve the new excipient and to explore if the bagasse from mechanically harvested sugar cane (often contaminated by soil) could also be used for production of MCC.

  7. Continuous volatile fatty acid production from lignocellulosic biomass by a novel rumen-mimetic bioprocess.

    PubMed

    Agematu, Hitosi; Takahashi, Takehiko; Hamano, Yoshio

    2017-11-01

    Lignocellulosic biomass is an attractive source of biofuels and biochemicals, being abundant in various plant sources. However, processing this type of biomass requires hydrolysis of cellulose. The proposed rumen-mimetic bioprocess consists of dry-pulverization of lignocellulosic biomass and pH-controlled continuous cultivation of ruminal bacteria using ammonium as a nitrogen source. In this study, ruminal bacteria were continuously cultivated for over 60 days and used to digest microcrystalline cellulose, rice straw, and Japanese cedar to produce volatile fatty acids (VFAs). The ruminal bacteria grew well in the chemically defined medium. The amounts of VFAs produced from 20 g of cellulose, rice straw, and Japanese cedar were 183 ± 29.7, 69.6 ± 12.2, and 21.8 ± 12.9 mmol, respectively. Each digestion completed within 24 h. The carbon yield was 60.6% when 180 mmol of VFAs was produced from 20 g of cellulose. During the cultivation, the bacteria were observed to form flocs that enfolded the feed particles. These flocs likely contain all of the bacterial species necessary to convert lignocellulosic biomass to VFAs and microbial protein symbiotically. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of PCR-amplified 16S rDNA fragments revealed that the bacterial community was relatively stable after 1 week in cultivation, though it was different from the original community structure. Furthermore, sequence analysis of the DGGE bands indicates that the microbial community includes a cellulolytic bacterium, a bacterium acting synergistically with cellulolytic bacteria, and a propionate-producing bacterium, as well as other anaerobic bacteria. Copyright © 2017 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Synthesis and characterization of seaweed cellulose derived carboxymethyl cellulose.

    PubMed

    Lakshmi, Duraikkannu Shanthana; Trivedi, Nitin; Reddy, C R K

    2017-02-10

    In the present study, cellulose (SWC) extracted from green seaweed Ulva fasciata was processed to synthesize carboxymethyl cellulose (SWCMC). The seaweed cellulose (∼15% DW) was first processed for α cellulose extraction (10.1% on DW) followed by the synthesis and characterization of SWCMC. Thin films were prepared using commercial CMC (CCMC), SWCMC and SWCMC-metal nanoparticle (2% wt/v) by solvent evaporation technique. Films were studied for molecular weight, degree of carboxylation, viscosity and characterized by FT-IR and TGA. AFM surface morphology of SWCMC-metal nanoparticle film confirms the uniform distribution of sphere shaped metal nanoparticle on the film surface with the size in the range of 50-75nm. Further, SWCMC film showed antimicrobial activity when prepared with Ag and leaf extract of Azadirachta indica. The biodegradable nature of SWCMC film was confirmed by growing marine fungus Cladosporium spherospermum on CMC agar plates. Thus, SWCMC films exhibit potential applications in cosmetic, food, textiles, medical, agricultural and pharmaceutical industries. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Bacterial cellulose composites loaded with SiO2 nanoparticles: Dynamic-mechanical and thermal properties.

    PubMed

    Sheykhnazari, Somayeh; Tabarsa, Taghi; Ashori, Alireza; Ghanbari, Abbas

    2016-12-01

    The aim of this paper was to prepare composites of bacterial cellulose (BC) filled with silica (SiO 2 ) nanoparticles to evaluate the influence of the SiO 2 contents (3, 5 and 7wt%) on the thermo-mechanical properties of the composites. BC hydro-gel was immersed in an aqueous solution of silanol derived from tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), the silanol was then converted into SiO 2 in the BC matrix by pressing at 120°C and 2MPa. The BC/SiO 2 translucent sheets were examined by dynamic-mechanical analysis (DMA), thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The temperature dependence of the storage modulus, loss modulus and tan delta was determined by DMA. In general, the results revealed that the increment of storage modulus and thermal stability increased concomitantly with the augmentation of SiO 2 content. Therefore, it could be concluded that the mechanical properties of the composites were improved by using high amounts of nano silica. This would be a high aspect ratio of BC capable of connecting the BC matrix and SiO 2 , thereby enhancing a large contact surface and resulting in excellent coherence. A decrease of the storage modulus was consistent with increasing temperature, resulting from softening of the composites. The storage modulus of the composites increased in the order: BC/S7>BC/S5>BC/S3, while the loss modulus and tan delta decreased. On the other hand, the thermal stabilities of all BC/SiO 2 composites were remarkably enhanced as compared to the pristine BC. TGA curves showed that the temperature of decomposition of the pure BC gradually shifted from about 260°C to about 370°C as silica content increased. SEM observations illustrated that the nano-scale SiO 2 was embedded between the voids and nano-fibrils of the BC matrix. Overall, the results indicated that the successful synthesis and superior properties of BC/SiO 2 advocate its effectiveness for various applications. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Behavior and biocompatibility of rabbit bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells with bacterial cellulose membrane

    PubMed Central

    Leite, Yulla Klinger de Carvalho; de Carvalho, Camila Ernanda Sousa; Feitosa, Matheus Levi Tajra; Alves, Michel Muálem de Moraes; Carvalho, Fernando Aécio de Amorim; Neto, Bartolomeu Cruz Viana; Miglino, Maria Angélica

    2018-01-01

    Background Tissue engineering has been shown to exhibit great potential for the creation of biomaterials capable of developing into functional tissues. Cellular expansion and integration depends on the quality and surface-determinant factors of the scaffold, which are required for successful biological implants. The objective of this research was to characterize and evaluate the in vitro characteristics of rabbit bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) associated with a bacterial cellulose membrane (BCM). We assessed the adhesion, expansion, and integration of the biomaterial as well as its ability to induce macrophage activation. Finally, we evaluated the cytotoxicity and toxicity of the BCM. Methods Samples of rabbit bone marrow were collected. Mesenchymal stem cells were isolated from medullary aspirates to establish fibroblast colony-forming unit assay. Osteogenic, chondrogenic, and adipogenic differentiation was performed. Integration with the BCM was assessed by scanning electron microscopy at 1, 7, and 14 days. Cytotoxicity was assessed via the production of nitric oxide, and BCM toxicity was assessed with the MTT assay; phagocytic activity was also determined. Results The fibroblastoid colony-forming unit (CFU-F) assay showed cells with a fibroblastoid morphology organized into colonies, and distributed across the culture area surface. In the growth curve, two distinct phases, lag and log phase, were observed at 15 days. Multipotentiality of the cells was evident after induction of osteogenic, chondrogenic, and adipogenic lineages. Regarding the BM-MSCs’ bioelectrical integration with the BCM, BM-MSCs were anchored in the BCM in the first 24 h. On day 7 of culture, the cytoplasm was scattered, and on day 14, the cells were fully integrated with the biomaterial. We also observed significant macrophage activation; analysis of the MTT assay and the concentration of nitric oxide revealed no cytotoxicity of the biomaterial. Conclusion The BCM allowed the

  11. Cellulose Aggregation under Hydrothermal Pretreatment Conditions.

    PubMed

    Silveira, Rodrigo L; Stoyanov, Stanislav R; Kovalenko, Andriy; Skaf, Munir S

    2016-08-08

    Cellulose, the most abundant biopolymer on Earth, represents a resource for sustainable production of biofuels. Thermochemical treatments make lignocellulosic biomaterials more amenable to depolymerization by exposing cellulose microfibrils to enzymatic or chemical attacks. In such treatments, the solvent plays fundamental roles in biomass modification, but the molecular events underlying these changes are still poorly understood. Here, the 3D-RISM-KH molecular theory of solvation has been employed to analyze the role of water in cellulose aggregation under different thermodynamic conditions. The results show that, under ambient conditions, highly structured hydration shells around cellulose create repulsive forces that protect cellulose microfibrils from aggregating. Under hydrothermal pretreatment conditions, however, the hydration shells lose structure, and cellulose aggregation is favored. These effects are largely due to a decrease in cellulose-water interactions relative to those at ambient conditions, so that cellulose-cellulose attractive interactions become prevalent. Our results provide an explanation to the observed increase in the lateral size of cellulose crystallites when biomass is subject to pretreatments and deepen the current understanding of the mechanisms of biomass modification.

  12. Isolation and characterization of two cellulose morphology mutants of Gluconacetobacter hansenii ATCC23769 producing cellulose with lower crystallinity

    DOE PAGES

    Deng, Ying; Nagachar, Nivedita; Fang, Lin; ...

    2015-03-19

    Gluconacetobacter hansenii, a Gram-negative bacterium, produces and secrets highly crystalline cellulose into growth medium, and has long been used as a model system for studying cellulose synthesis in higher plants. Cellulose synthesis involves the formation of β-1,4 glucan chains via the polymerization of glucose units by a multi-enzyme cellulose synthase complex (CSC). These glucan chains assemble into ordered structures including crystalline microfibrils. AcsA is the catalytic subunit of the cellulose synthase enzymes in the CSC, and AcsC is required for the secretion of cellulose. However, little is known about other proteins required for the assembly of crystalline cellulose. To addressmore » this question, we visually examined cellulose pellicles formed in growth media of 763 individual colonies of G. hansenii generated via Tn5 transposon insertion mutagenesis, and identified 85 that produced cellulose with altered morphologies. X-ray diffraction analysis of these 85 mutants identified two that produced cellulose with significantly lower crystallinity than wild type. The gene disrupted in one of these two mutants encoded a lysine decarboxylase and that in the other encoded an alanine racemase. Solid-state NMR analysis revealed that cellulose produced by these two mutants contained increased amounts of non-crystalline cellulose and monosaccharides associated with non-cellulosic polysaccharides as compared to the wild type. Monosaccharide analysis detected higher percentages of galactose and mannose in cellulose produced by both mutants. Field emission scanning electron microscopy showed that cellulose produced by the mutants was unevenly distributed, with some regions appearing to contain deposition of non-cellulosic polysaccharides; however, the width of the ribbon was comparable to that of normal cellulose. As both lysine decarboxylase and alanine racemase are required for the integrity of peptidoglycan, we propose a model for the role of peptidoglycan

  13. Isolation and characterization of two cellulose morphology mutants of Gluconacetobacter hansenii ATCC23769 producing cellulose with lower crystallinity.

    PubMed

    Deng, Ying; Nagachar, Nivedita; Fang, Lin; Luan, Xin; Catchmark, Jeffrey M; Tien, Ming; Kao, Teh-hui

    2015-01-01

    Gluconacetobacter hansenii, a Gram-negative bacterium, produces and secrets highly crystalline cellulose into growth medium, and has long been used as a model system for studying cellulose synthesis in higher plants. Cellulose synthesis involves the formation of β-1,4 glucan chains via the polymerization of glucose units by a multi-enzyme cellulose synthase complex (CSC). These glucan chains assemble into ordered structures including crystalline microfibrils. AcsA is the catalytic subunit of the cellulose synthase enzymes in the CSC, and AcsC is required for the secretion of cellulose. However, little is known about other proteins required for the assembly of crystalline cellulose. To address this question, we visually examined cellulose pellicles formed in growth media of 763 individual colonies of G. hansenii generated via Tn5 transposon insertion mutagenesis, and identified 85 that produced cellulose with altered morphologies. X-ray diffraction analysis of these 85 mutants identified two that produced cellulose with significantly lower crystallinity than wild type. The gene disrupted in one of these two mutants encoded a lysine decarboxylase and that in the other encoded an alanine racemase. Solid-state NMR analysis revealed that cellulose produced by these two mutants contained increased amounts of non-crystalline cellulose and monosaccharides associated with non-cellulosic polysaccharides as compared to the wild type. Monosaccharide analysis detected higher percentages of galactose and mannose in cellulose produced by both mutants. Field emission scanning electron microscopy showed that cellulose produced by the mutants was unevenly distributed, with some regions appearing to contain deposition of non-cellulosic polysaccharides; however, the width of the ribbon was comparable to that of normal cellulose. As both lysine decarboxylase and alanine racemase are required for the integrity of peptidoglycan, we propose a model for the role of peptidoglycan in the

  14. Isolation and Characterization of Two Cellulose Morphology Mutants of Gluconacetobacter hansenii ATCC23769 Producing Cellulose with Lower Crystallinity

    PubMed Central

    Deng, Ying; Nagachar, Nivedita; Fang, Lin; Luan, Xin; Catchmark, Jeffrey M.; Tien, Ming; Kao, Teh-hui

    2015-01-01

    Gluconacetobacter hansenii, a Gram-negative bacterium, produces and secrets highly crystalline cellulose into growth medium, and has long been used as a model system for studying cellulose synthesis in higher plants. Cellulose synthesis involves the formation of β-1,4 glucan chains via the polymerization of glucose units by a multi-enzyme cellulose synthase complex (CSC). These glucan chains assemble into ordered structures including crystalline microfibrils. AcsA is the catalytic subunit of the cellulose synthase enzymes in the CSC, and AcsC is required for the secretion of cellulose. However, little is known about other proteins required for the assembly of crystalline cellulose. To address this question, we visually examined cellulose pellicles formed in growth media of 763 individual colonies of G. hansenii generated via Tn5 transposon insertion mutagenesis, and identified 85 that produced cellulose with altered morphologies. X-ray diffraction analysis of these 85 mutants identified two that produced cellulose with significantly lower crystallinity than wild type. The gene disrupted in one of these two mutants encoded a lysine decarboxylase and that in the other encoded an alanine racemase. Solid-state NMR analysis revealed that cellulose produced by these two mutants contained increased amounts of non-crystalline cellulose and monosaccharides associated with non-cellulosic polysaccharides as compared to the wild type. Monosaccharide analysis detected higher percentages of galactose and mannose in cellulose produced by both mutants. Field emission scanning electron microscopy showed that cellulose produced by the mutants was unevenly distributed, with some regions appearing to contain deposition of non-cellulosic polysaccharides; however, the width of the ribbon was comparable to that of normal cellulose. As both lysine decarboxylase and alanine racemase are required for the integrity of peptidoglycan, we propose a model for the role of peptidoglycan in the

  15. Laser marking on microcrystalline silicon film.

    PubMed

    Park, Min Gyu; Choi, Se-Bum; Ruh, Hyun; Hwang, Hae-Sook; Yu, Hyunung

    2012-07-01

    We present a compact dot marker using a CW laser on a microcrystalline silicon (Si) thin film. A laser annealing shows a continuous crystallization transformation from nano to a large domain (> 200 nm) of Si nanocrystals. This microscale patterning is quite useful since we can manipulate a two-dimentional (2-D) process of Si structural forms for better and efficient thin-film transistor (TFT) devices as well as for photovoltaic application with uniform electron mobility. A Raman scattering microscope is adopted to draw a 2-D mapping of crystal Si film with the intensity of optical-phonon mode at 520 cm(-1). At a 300-nm spatial resolution, the position resolved the Raman scattering spectra measurements carried out to observe distribution of various Si species (e.g., large crystalline, polycrystalline and amorphous phase). The population of polycrystalline (poly-Si) species in the thin film can be analyzed with the frequency shift (delta omega) from the optical-phonon line since poly-Si distribution varies widely with conditions, such as an irradiated-laser power. Solid-phase crystallization with CW laser irradiation improves conductivity of poly-Si with micropatterning to develop the potential of the device application.

  16. Hazy Transparent Cellulose Nanopaper

    PubMed Central

    Hsieh, Ming-Chun; Koga, Hirotaka; Suganuma, Katsuaki; Nogi, Masaya

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study is to clarify light scattering mechanism of hazy transparent cellulose nanopaper. Clear optical transparent nanopaper consists of 3–15 nm wide cellulose nanofibers, which are obtained by the full nanofibrillation of pulp fibers. At the clear transparent nanopaper with 40 μm thickness, their total transmittance are 89.3–91.5% and haze values are 4.9–11.7%. When the pulp fibers are subjected to weak nanofibrillation, hazy transparent nanopapers are obtained. The hazy transparent nanopaper consists of cellulose nanofibers and some microsized cellulose fibers. At the hazy transparent nanopaper with 40 μm thickness, their total transmittance were constant at 88.6–92.1% but their haze value were 27.3–86.7%. Cellulose nanofibers are solid cylinders, whereas the pulp fibers are hollow cylinders. The hollow shape is retained in the microsized cellulose fibers, but they are compressed flat inside the nanopaper. This compressed cavity causes light scattering by the refractive index difference between air and cellulose. As a result, the nanopaper shows a hazy transparent appearance and exhibits a high thermal durability (295–305 °C), and low thermal expansion (8.5–10.6 ppm/K) because of their high density (1.29–1.55 g/cm3) and crystallinity (73–80%). PMID:28128326

  17. Cellulose Derivatives for Water Repellent Properties

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Synthesis and structural characterizations of nitro-benzyl cellulose, amino-benzyl cellulose and pentafluoro –benzyl cellulose were carried out. Cellulose derivatives were synthesized by etherification process in lithium chloride/N,N-dimethylacetamide homogeneous solution. Nitrobenzylation was effec...

  18. Effect of Evaporation Time on Separation Performance of Polysulfone/Cellulose Acetate (PSF/CA) Membrane

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Syahbanu, Intan; Piluharto, Bambang; Khairi, Syahrul; Sudarko

    2018-01-01

    Polysulfone and cellulose acetate are common material in separation. In this research, polysulfone/cellulose actetate (PSF/CA) blend membrane was prepared. The aim of this research was to study effect of evaporation time in casting of PSF/CA membrane and its performance in filtration. CA was obtained by acetylation process of bacterial cellulose (BC) from fermentation of coconut water. Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) Spectroscopy was used to examine functional groups of BC, CA and commercial cellulose acetate. Subtitution of acetyl groups determined by titration method. Blend membranes were prepared through phase inversion technique in which composition of PSF/PEG/CA/NMP(%w) was 15/5/5/75. Polyethyleneglycol (PEG) and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) were act as pore forming agent and solvent, respectively. Variation of evaporation times were used as parameter to examine water uptake, flux, and morphology of PSF/CA blend membranes. FTIR spectra of CA show characteristic peak of acetyl group at 1220 cm-1 indicated that BC was acetylated succesfully. Degree of subtitution of BCA was found at 2.62. Highest water flux was performed at 2 bar obtained at 106.31 L.m-2.h-1 at 0 minute variation, and decrease as increasing evaporation time. Morphology of PSF/BCA blend membranes were investigated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showed that porous asymetric membrane were formed.

  19. Optical Absorption Spectra of Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Silicon Films by Resonant Photothermal Bending Spectroscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kunii, Toshie; Yoshida, Norimitsu; Hori, Yasuro; Nonomura, Shuichi

    2006-05-01

    A resonant photothermal bending spectroscopy (PBS) is demonstrated for the measurement of absorption coefficient spectra in hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) and hydrogenated microcrystalline cubic silicon carbide (μc-3C-SiC:H) films. The resonant vibration technique utilized in PBS establishes the sensitivity as α d˜ 5× 10-5 in a vacuum measurement. Appling resonant PBS to μc-Si:H films, a new extra absorption coefficient αex spectrum is observed from 0.6 to 1.2 eV. The αex spectrum has a peak at ˜1.0 eV, and the localized states inducing the αex are located ˜0.35 eV below the conduction band edge of μc-Si:H. A possible explanation for the observed localized state is that an oxidation produces weak bonds at the grain boundaries and/or amorphous silicon tissues. In μc-3C-SiC:H film, an optical band-gap energy of ˜2.2 eV was demonstrated assuming an indirect optical transition. The temperature coefficient of the optical band-gap energy was ˜2.3× 10-4 eV K-1. The αex spectrum of μc-3C-SiC:H film is plateau-shaped and its magnitude is in accord with an increase in grain size.

  20. The application of nanoindentation for determination of cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) nanomechanical properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yildirim, N.; Shaler, S.

    2016-10-01

    Nanocellulose is a polymer which can be isolated from nature (woods, plants, bacteria, and from sea animals) through chemical or mechanical treatments, as cellulose nanofibrils (CNF), cellulose nanocrystals or bacterial celluloses. Focused global research activities have resulted in decreasing costs. A nascent industry of producers has created a huge market interest in CNF. However, there is still lack of knowledge on the nanomechanical properties of CNF, which create barriers for the scientist and producers to optimize and predict behavior of the final product. In this research, the behavior of CNF under nano compression loads were investigated through three different approaches, Oliver-Pharr (OP), fused silica (FS), and tip imaging (TI) via nanoindentation in an atomic force microscope. The CNF modulus estimates for the three approaches were 16.6 GPa, for OP, 15.8 GPa for FS, and 10.9 GPa for TI. The CNF reduced moduli estimates were consistently higher and followed the same estimate rankings by analysis technique (18.2, 17.4, and 11.9 GPa). This unique study minimizes the uncertainties related to the nanomechanical properties of CNFs and provides increased knowledge on understanding the role of CNFs as a reinforcing material in composites and also improvement in making accurate theoretical calculations and predictions.

  1. Assembly of synthetic cellulose I.

    PubMed

    Lee, J H; Brown, R M; Kuga, S; Shoda, S; Kobayashi, S

    1994-08-02

    Cellulose microfibrils with an electron diffraction pattern characteristic of crystalline native cellulose I have been assembled abiotically by means of a cellulase-catalyzed polymerization of beta-cellobiosyl fluoride substrate monomer in acetonitrile/acetate buffer. Substantial purification of the Trichoderma viride cellulase enzyme was found to be essential for the formation of the synthetic cellulose I allomorph. Assembly of synthetic cellulose I appears to be a result of a micellar aggregation of the partially purified enzyme and the substrate in an organic/aqueous solvent system favoring the alignment of glucan chains with the same polarity and extended chain conformation, resulting in crystallization to form the metastable cellulose I allomorph.

  2. Microbial Cellulose Utilization: Fundamentals and Biotechnology

    PubMed Central

    Lynd, Lee R.; Weimer, Paul J.; van Zyl, Willem H.; Pretorius, Isak S.

    2002-01-01

    Fundamental features of microbial cellulose utilization are examined at successively higher levels of aggregation encompassing the structure and composition of cellulosic biomass, taxonomic diversity, cellulase enzyme systems, molecular biology of cellulase enzymes, physiology of cellulolytic microorganisms, ecological aspects of cellulase-degrading communities, and rate-limiting factors in nature. The methodological basis for studying microbial cellulose utilization is considered relative to quantification of cells and enzymes in the presence of solid substrates as well as apparatus and analysis for cellulose-grown continuous cultures. Quantitative description of cellulose hydrolysis is addressed with respect to adsorption of cellulase enzymes, rates of enzymatic hydrolysis, bioenergetics of microbial cellulose utilization, kinetics of microbial cellulose utilization, and contrasting features compared to soluble substrate kinetics. A biological perspective on processing cellulosic biomass is presented, including features of pretreated substrates and alternative process configurations. Organism development is considered for “consolidated bioprocessing” (CBP), in which the production of cellulolytic enzymes, hydrolysis of biomass, and fermentation of resulting sugars to desired products occur in one step. Two organism development strategies for CBP are examined: (i) improve product yield and tolerance in microorganisms able to utilize cellulose, or (ii) express a heterologous system for cellulose hydrolysis and utilization in microorganisms that exhibit high product yield and tolerance. A concluding discussion identifies unresolved issues pertaining to microbial cellulose utilization, suggests approaches by which such issues might be resolved, and contrasts a microbially oriented cellulose hydrolysis paradigm to the more conventional enzymatically oriented paradigm in both fundamental and applied contexts. PMID:12209002

  3. Growth and enzymatic activity of Leucoagaricus gongylophorus, a mutualistic fungus isolated from the leaf-cutting ant Atta mexicana, on cellulose and lignocellulosic biomass.

    PubMed

    Vigueras, G; Paredes-Hernández, D; Revah, S; Valenzuela, J; Olivares-Hernández, R; Le Borgne, S

    2017-08-01

    A mutualistic fungus of the leaf-cutting ant Atta mexicana was isolated and identified as Leucoagaricus gongylophorus. This isolate had a close phylogenetic relationship with L. gongylophorus fungi cultivated by other leaf-cutting ants as determined by ITS sequencing. A subcolony started with ~500 A. mexicana workers could process 2 g day -1 of plant material and generate a 135 cm 3 fungus garden in 160 days. The presence of gongylidia structures of ~35 μm was observed on the tip of the hyphae. The fungus could grow without ants on semi-solid cultures with α-cellulose and microcrystalline cellulose and in solid-state cultures with grass and sugarcane bagasse, as sole sources of carbon. The maximum CO 2 production rate on grass (V max  = 17·5 mg CO 2  L g -1  day -1 ) was three times higher than on sugarcane bagasse (V max  = 6·6 mg CO 2  L g -1 day -1 ). Recoveries of 32·9 mg glucose  g biomass -1 and 12·3 mg glucose  g biomass -1 were obtained from the fungal biomass and the fungus garden, respectively. Endoglucanase activity was detected on carboxymethylcellulose agar plates. This is the first study reporting the growth of L. gongylophorus from A. mexicana on cellulose and plant material. According to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report about the growth of Leucoagaricus gongylophorus, isolated from the colony of the ant Atta mexicana, on semisolid medium with cellulose and solid-state cultures with lignocellulosic materials. The maximum CO 2 production rate on grass was three times higher than on sugarcane bagasse. Endoglucanase activity was detected and it was possible to recover glucose from the fungal gongylidia. The cellulolytic activity could be used to process lignocellulosic residues and obtain sugar or valuable products, but more work is needed in this direction. © 2017 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  4. Microcrystalline silicon growth for heterojunction solar cells

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Leung, D. C.; Iles, P. A.; Fang, P. H.

    1984-01-01

    Microcrystalline Si (m-Si) films with a 1.7eV energy bandgap and crystal size of several hundred A were e-beam evaporated on single crystalline Si (c-Si) to form a heterojunction with the substrate, or a window layer to a single crystalline p-n junction (heteroface structure). The goal was to enhance Voc by such uses of the larger bandgap m-Si, with the intriguing prospect of forming heterostructures with exact lattice match on each layer. The heterojunction structure was affected by interface and shunting problems and the best Voc achieved was only 482mV, well below that of single crystal Si homojunctions. The heteroface structure showed promise for some of the samples with p m-Si/p-n structure (the complementary structure did not show any improvement). Although several runs with different deposition conditions were run, the results were inconsistent. Any Voc enhancement obtained was too small to compensate for the current loss due to the extra absorption and poor carrier transport properties of the m-Si film.

  5. Effect of polyethelene oxide on the thermal degradation of cellulose biofilm – Low cost material for soft tissue repair in dentistry

    PubMed Central

    Tyler, Rakim; Schiraldi, David; Roperto, Renato; Faddoul, Fady; Teich, Sorin

    2017-01-01

    Background Bio cellulose is a byproduct of sweet tea fermentation known as kombusha. During the biosynthesis by bacteria cellulose chains are polymerized by enzyme from activated glucose. The single chains are then extruded through the bacterial cell wall. Interestingly, a potential of the Kombucha’s byproduct bio cellulose (BC) as biomaterial had come into focus only in the past few decades. The unique physical and mechanical properties such as high purity, an ultrafine and highly crystalline network structure, a superior mechanical strength, flexibility, pronounced permeability to gases and liquids, and an excellent compatibility with living tissue that reinforced by biodegradability, biocompatibility, large swelling ratios. Material and Methods The bio-cellulose film specimens were provided by the R.P Dressel dental materials laboratory, Department of Comprehensive Care, School of Dental Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, US. The films were harvested, washed with water and dried at room temperature overnight. 1wt% of PEG-2000 and 10wt% of NaOH were added into ultrapure water to prepare PEG/NaOH solution. Then bio-cellulose film was added to the mixture and swell for 3 h at room temperature. All bio-cellulose film specimens were all used in the TA Instruments Q500 Thermogravmetric Analyzer to investigate weight percent lost and degradation. The TGA was under ambient air conditions at a heating rate of 10ºC/min. Results and Conclusions PEG control exhibited one transition with the peak at 380ºC. Cellulose and cellulose/ PEG films showed 3 major transitions. Interestingly, the cellulose/PEG film showed slightly elevated temperatures when compared to the corresponding transitions for cellulose control. The thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) degradation curves were analyzed. Cellulose control film exhibited two zero order transitions, that indicate the independence of the rate of degradation from the amount on the initial substance. The

  6. A co-production of sugars, lignosulfonates, cellulose, and cellulose nanocrystals from ball-milled woods

    Treesearch

    Lanxing Du; Jinwu Wang; Yang Zhang; Chusheng Qi; Michael P. Wolcott; Zhiming Yu

    2017-01-01

    This study demonstrated the technical potential for the large-scale co-production of sugars, lignosulfonates, cellulose, and cellulose nanocrystals. Ball-milled woods with two particle sizes were prepared by ball milling for 80 min or 120 min (BMW80, BMW120) and then enzymatically hydrolyzed. 78.3% cellulose conversion of...

  7. Multi-Mode Binding of Cellobiohydrolase Cel7A from Trichoderma reesei to Cellulose

    PubMed Central

    Jalak, Jürgen; Väljamäe, Priit

    2014-01-01

    Enzymatic hydrolysis of recalcitrant polysaccharides like cellulose takes place on the solid-liquid interface. Therefore the adsorption of enzymes to the solid surface is a pre-requisite for catalysis. Here we used enzymatic activity measurements with fluorescent model-substrate 4-methyl-umbelliferyl-β-D-lactoside for sensitive monitoring of the binding of cellobiohydrolase TrCel7A from Trichoderma reesei to bacterial cellulose (BC). The binding at low nanomolar free TrCel7A concentrations was exclusively active site mediated and was consistent with Langmuir's one binding site model with K d and A max values of 2.9 nM and 126 nmol/g BC, respectively. This is the strongest binding observed with non-complexed cellulases and apparently represents the productive binding of TrCel7A to cellulose chain ends on the hydrophobic face of BC microfibril. With increasing free TrCel7A concentrations the isotherm gradually deviated from the Langmuir's one binding site model. This was caused by the increasing contribution of lower affinity binding modes that included both active site mediated binding and non-productive binding with active site free from cellulose chain. The binding of TrCel7A to BC was found to be only partially reversible. Furthermore, the isotherm was dependent on the concentration of BC with more efficient binding observed at lower BC concentrations. The phenomenon can be ascribed to the BC concentration dependent aggregation of BC microfibrils with concomitant reduction of specific surface area. PMID:25265511

  8. Culture medium pH influence on Gluconacetobacter physiology: Cellulose production rate and yield enhancement in presence of multiple carbon sources.

    PubMed

    Yassine, Fatima; Bassil, Nathalie; Flouty, Roula; Chokr, Ali; Samrani, Antoine El; Boiteux, Gisèle; Tahchi, Mario El

    2016-08-01

    Gluconacetobacter genera are valued for bacterial cellulose (BC) and acetic acid production. BC is produced at optimal yields in classical microbiological media that are expensive for a large scale of production. In addition, BC usage for industrial purposes is limited due to low conversion rate into cellulose and to long incubation duration. In this paper, Gluconacetobacter isolated from apple vinegar was kinetically studied to evaluate cellulose production in presence of different carbon sources. Acetic and citric acid effect on Gluconacetobacter metabolism is clarified. It was shown that Gluconacetobacter uses glucose as a primary carbon source for cells growth and products formation. Acetic acid employment as a co-carbon source in Hestrin Schramm medium showed an increase of 17% in BC yield with a moderate decrease in the crystallite size of the resulting polymer. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Chain scission and anti fungal effect of electron beam on cellulose membrane

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wanichapichart, Pikul; Taweepreeda, Wirach; Nawae, Safitree; Choomgan, Pastraporn; Yasenchak, Dan

    2012-08-01

    Two types of bacterial cellulose (BC) membranes were produced under a modified H&S medium using sucrose as a carbon source, with (CCB) and without (SHB) coconut juice supplement. Both membranes showed similar crystallinity of 69.24 and 71.55%. After being irradiated with E-beams under oxygen limited and ambient condition, the results from water contact angle showed that only the irradiated membrane CCB was increased from 30 to 40 degrees, and irradiation under oxygen ambient condition provided the greatest value. Comparing with the control membranes, smaller water flux was the cases after electron beam irradiation which indicated a reduction of membrane pore area. However, the results from molecular weight cut off (MWCO) revealed that chain scission was greater for membrane SHB and its cut off was increased from 28,000 Da to more than 35,000 Da. FTIR analysis revealed some changes in membrane functional groups, corresponding with the above results. These changes initiated new property of cellulose membranes, an anti-fungal food wrap.

  10. Cellulose synthesized by Enterobacter sp. FY-07 under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

    PubMed

    Ma, Ting; Ji, Kaihua; Wang, Wei; Wang, Jinghong; Li, Zhaoyu; Ran, Haitao; Liu, Bin; Li, Guoqiang

    2012-12-01

    Enterobacter sp. FY-07 can produce bacterial cellulose (BC) under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. In static cultivation at 30 °C for 72 h under anoxic, oxygen-limited and aerated conditions, cellulose production exceeded 5 g/l, which indicated that oxygen was not essential for production of BC by Enterobacter sp. FY-07. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed that the microstructure of the BC was similar to that produced by aerobic bacteria such as Gluconacetobacter xylinum BCRC12335 and Acetobacter sp. V6. The crystallinity index of the BC was 63.3%. Water-holding capacity (approximately 11000%) and rehydration ratio (24.4%) were superior to those reported for BC produced by the aerobic bacteria G. xylinum BCRC12335 and Acetobacter sp. V6. These results will facilitate static submerged fermentation for the production of BC. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Cellulose accessibility and microbial community in solid state anaerobic digestion of rape straw.

    PubMed

    Tian, Jiang-Hao; Pourcher, Anne-Marie; Bureau, Chrystelle; Peu, Pascal

    2017-01-01

    Solid state anaerobic digestion (SSAD) with leachate recirculation is an appropriate method for the valorization of agriculture residues. Rape straw is a massively produced residue with considerable biochemical methane potential, but its degradation in SSAD remains poorly understood. A thorough study was conducted to understand the performance of rape straw as feedstock for laboratory solid state anaerobic digesters. We investigated the methane production kinetics of rape straw in relation to cellulose accessibility to cellulase and the microbial community. Improving cellulose accessibility through milling had a positive influence on both the methane production rate and methane yield. The SSAD of rape straw reached 60% of its BMP in a 40-day pilot-scale test. Distinct bacterial communities were observed in digested rape straw and leachate, with Bacteroidales and Sphingobacteriales as the most abundant orders, respectively. Archaeal populations showed no phase preference and increased chronologically. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Mechanical Retention and Waterproof Properties of Bacterial Cellulose-Reinforced Thermoplastic Starch Biocomposites Modified with Sodium Hexametaphosphate

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Da-wei; Xu, Ying-juan; Li, Xin; Huang, Chao-ming; Huang, Kuo-shien; Wang, Chuen-kai; Yeh, Jen-taut

    2015-01-01

    The waterproof and strength retention properties of bacterial cellulose (BC)-reinforced thermoplastic starch (TPS) resins were successfully improved by reacting with sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP). After modification with SHMP, the tensile strength (σf) and impact strength (Is) values of initial and conditioned BC-reinforced TPS, modified with varying amounts of SHMP(TPS100BC0.02SHMPx), and their blends with poly(lactic acid)((TPS100BC0.02SHMPx)75PLA25) specimens improved significantly and reached a maximal value as SHMP content approached 10 parts per hundred parts of TPS resin (phr), while their moisture content and elongation at break (ɛf) was reduced to a minimal value as SHMP contents approached 10 phr. The σf, Is and ɛf retention values of a (TPS100BC0.02SHMP10)75PLA25 specimen conditioned for 56 days are 52%, 50% and 3 times its initial σf, Is and ɛf values, respectively, which are 32.5 times, 8.9 times and 40% of those of a corresponding conditioned TPS100BC0.02 specimen, respectively. As evidenced by FTIR analyses of TPS100BC0.02SHMPx specimens, hydroxyl groups of TPS100BC0.02 resins were successfully reacted with the phosphate groups of SHMP molecules. New melting endotherms and diffraction peaks of VH-type crystals were found on DSC thermograms and WAXD patterns of TPS or TPS100BC0.02 specimens conditioned for 7 days, while no new melting endotherm or diffraction peak was found for TPS100BC0.02SHMPx and/or (TPS100BC0.02SHMPx)75PLA25 specimens conditioned for less than 14 and 28 days, respectively.

  13. Superconducting Sweet-Spot in Microcrystalline Graphite Revealed by Point-Contact Spectroscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arnold, F.; Nyéki, J.; Saunders, J.

    2018-05-01

    In this letter we describe the observation of a magnetic field dependent electronic gap, suggestive of local superconductivity, in the point-contact spectrum of micro-crystalline graphite. Magnetic field dependent point-contact spectroscopy was carried out at a temperature of 1.8K using an etched aluminium tip. At zero field a gap structure in the differential conductance is observed, showing a gap of Δ = 4.2 meV. On applying magnetic fields of up to 500mT, this gap gradually closes, following the theoretical prediction by Ginzburg and Landau for a fully flux-penetrated superconductor. By applying BCS-theory, we infer a critical superconducting temperature of 14K.

  14. Comparison of physical properties of regenerated cellulose films fabricated with different cellulose feedstocks in ionic liquid.

    PubMed

    Pang, JinHui; Wu, Miao; Zhang, QiaoHui; Tan, Xin; Xu, Feng; Zhang, XueMing; Sun, RunCang

    2015-05-05

    With the serious "white pollution" resulted from the non-biodegradable plastic films, considerable attention has been directed toward the development of renewable and biodegradable cellulose-based film materials as substitutes of petroleum-derived materials. In this study, environmentally friendly cellulose films were successfully prepared using different celluloses (pine, cotton, bamboo, MCC) as raw materials and ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate as a solvent. The SEM and AFM indicated that all cellulose films displayed a homogeneous and smooth surface. In addition, the FT-IR and XRD analysis showed the transition from cellulose I to II was occurred after the dissolution and regeneration process. Furthermore, the cellulose films prepared by cotton linters and pine possessed the most excellent thermal stability and mechanical properties, which were suggested by the highest onset temperature (285°C) and tensile stress (120 MPa), respectively. Their excellent properties of regenerated cellulose films are promising for applications in food packaging and medical materials. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Different Conformations of Surface Cellulose Molecules in Native Cellulose Microfibrils Revealed by Layer-by-Layer Peeling.

    PubMed

    Funahashi, Ryunosuke; Okita, Yusuke; Hondo, Hiromasa; Zhao, Mengchen; Saito, Tsuguyuki; Isogai, Akira

    2017-11-13

    Layer-by-layer peeling of surface molecules of native cellulose microfibrils was performed using a repeated sequential process of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical-mediated oxidation followed by hot alkali extraction. Both highly crystalline algal and tunicate celluloses and low-crystalline cotton and wood celluloses were investigated. Initially, the C6-hydroxy groups of the outermost surface molecules of each algal cellulose microfibril facing the exterior had the gauche-gauche (gg) conformation, whereas those facing the interior had the gauche-trans (gt) conformation. All the other C6-hydroxy groups of the cellulose molecules inside the microfibrils contributing to crystalline cellulose I had the trans-gauche (tg) conformation. After surface peeling, the originally second-layer molecules from the microfibril surface became the outermost surface molecules, and the original tg conformation changed to gg and gt conformations. The plant cellulose microfibrils likely had disordered structures for both the outermost surface and second-layer molecules, as demonstrated using the same layer-by-layer peeling technique.

  16. Acid hydrolysis of cellulose to yield glucose

    DOEpatents

    Tsao, George T.; Ladisch, Michael R.; Bose, Arindam

    1979-01-01

    A process to yield glucose from cellulose through acid hydrolysis. Cellulose is recovered from cellulosic materials, preferably by pretreating the cellulosic materials by dissolving the cellulosic materials in Cadoxen or a chelating metal caustic swelling solvent and then precipitating the cellulose therefrom. Hydrolysis is accomplished using an acid, preferably dilute sulfuric acid, and the glucose is yielded substantially without side products. Lignin may be removed either before or after hydrolysis.

  17. Cellulose biosynthesis: current views and evolving concepts.

    PubMed

    Saxena, Inder M; Brown, R Malcolm

    2005-07-01

    To outline the current state of knowledge and discuss the evolution of various viewpoints put forth to explain the mechanism of cellulose biosynthesis. * Understanding the mechanism of cellulose biosynthesis is one of the major challenges in plant biology. The simplicity in the chemical structure of cellulose belies the complexities that are associated with the synthesis and assembly of this polysaccharide. Assembly of cellulose microfibrils in most organisms is visualized as a multi-step process involving a number of proteins with the key protein being the cellulose synthase catalytic sub-unit. Although genes encoding this protein have been identified in almost all cellulose synthesizing organisms, it has been a challenge in general, and more specifically in vascular plants, to demonstrate cellulose synthase activity in vitro. The assembly of glucan chains into cellulose microfibrils of specific dimensions, viewed as a spontaneous process, necessitates the assembly of synthesizing sites unique to most groups of organisms. The steps of polymerization (requiring the specific arrangement and activity of the cellulose synthase catalytic sub-units) and crystallization (directed self-assembly of glucan chains) are certainly interlinked in the formation of cellulose microfibrils. Mutants affected in cellulose biosynthesis have been identified in vascular plants. Studies on these mutants and herbicide-treated plants suggest an interesting link between the steps of polymerization and crystallization during cellulose biosynthesis. * With the identification of a large number of genes encoding cellulose synthases and cellulose synthase-like proteins in vascular plants and the supposed role of a number of other proteins in cellulose biosynthesis, a complete understanding of this process will necessitate a wider variety of research tools and approaches than was thought to be required a few years back.

  18. Strong and Optically Transparent Films Prepared Using Cellulosic Solid Residue Recovered from Cellulose Nanocrystals Production Waste Stream

    Treesearch

    Qianqian Wang; J.Y. Zhu; John M. Considine

    2013-01-01

    We used a new cellulosic material, cellulosic solid residue (CSR), to produce cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) for potential high value applications. Cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) were produced from CSR recovered from the hydrolysates (waste stream) of acid hydrolysis of a bleached Eucalyptus kraft pulp (BEP) to produce nanocrystals (CNC). Acid hydrolysis greatly facilitated...

  19. Hybrid Drug Delivery Patches Based on Spherical Cellulose Nanocrystals and Colloid Titania—Synthesis and Antibacterial Properties

    PubMed Central

    Svensson, Fredric G.; Agafonov, Alexander V.; Håkansson, Sebastian; Seisenbaeva, Gulaim A.

    2018-01-01

    Spherical cellulose nanocrystal-based hybrids grafted with titania nanoparticles were successfully produced for topical drug delivery. The conventional analytical filter paper was used as a precursor material for cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) production. Cellulose nanocrystals were extracted via a simple and quick two-step process based on first the complexation with Cu(II) solution in aqueous ammonia followed by acid hydrolysis with diluted H2SO4. Triclosan was selected as a model drug for complexation with titania and further introduction into the nanocellulose based composite. Obtained materials were characterized by a broad variety of microscopic, spectroscopic, and thermal analysis methods. The drug release studies showed long-term release profiles of triclosan from the titania based nanocomposite that agreed with Higuchi model. The bacterial susceptibility tests demonstrated that released triclosan retained its antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. It was found that a small amount of titania significantly improved the antibacterial activity of obtained nanocomposites, even without immobilization of model drug. Thus, the developed hybrid patches are highly promising candidates for potential application as antibacterial agents. PMID:29642486

  20. Hybrid Drug Delivery Patches Based on Spherical Cellulose Nanocrystals and Colloid Titania-Synthesis and Antibacterial Properties.

    PubMed

    Evdokimova, Olga L; Svensson, Fredric G; Agafonov, Alexander V; Håkansson, Sebastian; Seisenbaeva, Gulaim A; Kessler, Vadim G

    2018-04-08

    Spherical cellulose nanocrystal-based hybrids grafted with titania nanoparticles were successfully produced for topical drug delivery. The conventional analytical filter paper was used as a precursor material for cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) production. Cellulose nanocrystals were extracted via a simple and quick two-step process based on first the complexation with Cu(II) solution in aqueous ammonia followed by acid hydrolysis with diluted H₂SO₄. Triclosan was selected as a model drug for complexation with titania and further introduction into the nanocellulose based composite. Obtained materials were characterized by a broad variety of microscopic, spectroscopic, and thermal analysis methods. The drug release studies showed long-term release profiles of triclosan from the titania based nanocomposite that agreed with Higuchi model. The bacterial susceptibility tests demonstrated that released triclosan retained its antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus . It was found that a small amount of titania significantly improved the antibacterial activity of obtained nanocomposites, even without immobilization of model drug. Thus, the developed hybrid patches are highly promising candidates for potential application as antibacterial agents.