The effect of nanoparticles and organic acids on bacterial nanocellulose synthesis, crystalline structure and water holding capacity

Bacterial cellulose is a biological polymer with a variety of extraordinary properties which make it a functional material for different industrial fields. This work aimed at monitoring the effects of three different organic acids and nanoparticles on the production, water holding capacity and structural characteristics of bacterial cellulose. Different concentrations of organic acids and nanoparticles were used to detect their effect on cellulose synthesis, and the crystalline structure of produced bacterial cellulose was analyzed by FTIR. The results showed that acetic acid has the greatest effect on bacterial cellulose production with productivity of 1.23 g L-1 (1.8 fold higher than the control) followed by CuO nanoparticle, and lactic acid exhibits the least effect (0.74 g L-1). Oleic acid improved bacterial cellulose production 1.5 fold higher than the control. From our FTIR results, the highest total crystalline index value (4.3) is related to the control bacterial cellulose representing the highest degree of crystallinity. Although acetic acid increases the production, it has a negative effect on the total crystalline index values. The water holding capacity values of bacterial celluloses confirmed this assumption. Addition of CuO nanoparticle not only promotes production of cellulose, but also does not significantly change the crystallization compared to the control. Therefore, we can use these data for improvement of bacterial cellulose production due to its great potential for biotechnological application.