title: In Vivo Curdlan/Cellulose Bionanocomposite Synthesis by Genetically Modified Gluconacetobacter xylinus.
abstract: Bacterial cellulose pellicle produced by Gluconacetobacter xylinus (G. xylinus) is one of the best biobased materials having a unique supernetwork structure with remarkable physiochemical properties for a wide range of medical and tissue-engineering applications. It is still necessary to modify them to obtain materials suitable for biomedical use with satisfactory mechanical strength, biodegradability, and bioactivity. The aim of this research was to develop a gene-transformation route for the production of bacterial cellulose/Curdlan (β-1,3-glucan) nanocomposites by separate but simultaneous in vivo synthesis of cellulose and Curdlan. Modification of the cellulose-nanofiber-producing system of G. xylinus enabled Curdlan to be synthesized simultaneously with cellulose nanofibers in vivo, resulting in biopreparation of nanocomposites. The obtained Curdlan/cellulose composites were characterized, and their properties were compared with those of normal bacterial cellulose pellicles, indicating that Curdlan mixed with the cellulose nanofibers at the nanoscale without disruption of the nanofiber network structure in the pellicle.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University , 6-10-1 Hakozaki, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan.
authors.forename: Ju
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Database Center for Life Science, Research Organization of Information and Systems, 178-4-4 Wakashiba, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-0871, Japan.
authors.forename: Shin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawano
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University , Kita 13, Nishi 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8628, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tajima
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University , 6-10-1 Hakozaki, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kondo
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002482:Cellulose / Q000737:chemistry*; D041822:Gluconacetobacter xylinus / Q000235:genetics*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D053761:Nanocomposites; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction; D047071:beta-Glucans / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D047071:beta-Glucans; C038459:curdlan; D002482:Cellulose