Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Basic Sciences & Oral Biology, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 55100, Malaysia. Electronic address: nadia.halib@usim.edu.my
  • 2 Centre for Advanced Materials and Renewable Resources, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
  • 3 Department of Engineering and Architecture, Trieste University, via Valerio 6, I-34127 Trieste, Italy
  • 4 Department of Life Sciences, Cattinara University Hospital, Trieste University, Strada di Fiume 447, I-34149 Trieste, Italy
Int J Pharm, 2019 Jul 20;566:631-640.
PMID: 31195074 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2019.06.017

Abstract

Cellulose is a natural homopolymer, composed of β-1,4- anhydro-d-glucopyranose units. Unlike plant cellulose, bacterial cellulose (BC), obtained from species belonging to the genera of Acetobacter, Rhizobium, Agrobacterium, and Sarcina through various cultivation methods and techniques, is produced in its pure form. BC is produced in the form of gel-like, never dry sheet with tremendous mechanical properties. Containing up to 99% of water, BC hydrogel is considered biocompatible thus finding robust applications in the health industry. Moreover, BC three-dimensional structure closely resembles the extracellular matrix (ECM) of living tissue. In this review, we focus on the porous BC morphology particularly suited to host oxygen and nutrients thus providing conducive environment for cell growth and proliferation. The remarkable BC porous morphology makes this biological material a promising templet for the generation of 3D tissue culture and possibly for tissue-engineered scaffolds.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.