FABRICATION AND EXAMINATION OF MAGNETIC BACTERIAL CELLULOSE AS A MATERIAL FOR BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

Abstract

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is one of the most abundant biopolymers in nature. Several attributes such as facilitative modification, high pore size/porosity, able to mass produce as well as biocompatibility renders BC a promising candidate for many fronts of biomedical engineering. One consideration for BC as a biomedical material over conventional plant cellulose is the ease in which BC can be obtained to provide high purity cellulose. In comparison to collagen, another biopolymer with considerable prospects for biomedical engineering, BC possesses a higher degree of elasticity, water retention, and lower degradability. The high affinity towards water and high porosity provide BC with great flexibility as a medium for drug release as well as protein and cell binding with appropriate modifications. The transparency of thin layer bacterial cellulose could be appropriate as components of certain specialized optical technology. Its high holding capacity due to the porosity provide BC as a potential drug loading material. Due to the mechanical properties and slow degradability, BC have been heavily utilized on tissue engineering such as osteo and dermal regeneration. Well established research topic in BC as wound dressings encourage the possibility of more commercialization of BC in wound healing products.