Dual Saccharides: How Do They Influence Bacterial Cellulose Production and Mechanical Properties?

Bacterial cellulose (BC) production has become more popular over the past few years and has been widely used as an alternative in diverse applications. The most prominently discussed is biomedical applications. Due to its popularity and high demand for biomaterials in that particular application, BC has been focusing on its production and mechanical properties that align with the industries' biomedical demands. This study aimed to investigate the effects of dual-saccharides on BC production and its mechanical properties. Monosaccharides and disaccharides such as glucose, fructose, sucrose, lactose and maltose were used as carbon source combinations and how these dual-saccharides affect the production and properties of BC. Bacterial K. xylinus can utilise dual-saccharides glucose+lactose to produce BC, based on the BC coefficient (g/g). The saccharide combinations of glucose+lactose gave the highest BC production with 0.15 (g) of final weight. Bacterial K. xylinus can fully utilise dual-saccharides glucose+lactose based on the BC coefficient, 0.007 (g/g). Upon drying, the purified BC was characterised using scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. Hence, combining dual-saccharides into the culture medium can enhance BC's production and mechanical properties for wound healing applications. (author)