Bacterial cellulose (BC) is currently one of the most popular environmentally friendly materials with unique structural and physicochemical properties for obtaining various functional materials for a wide range of applications. In this regard, the literature reporting on bacterial nanocellulose has increased exponentially in the past decade. Currently, extensive investigations aim at promoting the manufacturing of BC-based nanocomposites with other components such as nanoparticles, polymers, and biomolecules, and that will enable to develop of a wide range of materials with advanced and novel functionalities. However, the commercial production of such materials is limited by the high cost and low yield of BC, and the lack of highly efficient industrial production technologies as well. Therefore, the present review aimed at studying the current literature data in the field of highly efficient BC production for the purpose of its further usage to obtain polymer nanocomposites. The review highlights the progress in synthesizing BC-based nanocomposites and their applications in biomedical fields, such as wound healing, drug delivery, tissue engineering. Bacterial nanocellulose-based biosensors and adsorbents were introduced herein.

Recently, degradable biopolymers have become increasingly important as potential environmentally friendly biomaterials, providing a wide range of applications in various fields. Bacterial exopolysaccharides (EPSs) are biomacromolecules, which due to their unique properties have found applications in biomedicine, foodstuff, textiles, cosmetics, petroleum, pharmaceuticals, nanoelectronics, and environmental remediation. One of the important commercial polysaccharides produced on an industrial scale is xanthan. In recent years, the range of its application has expanded significantly. Bacterial cellulose (BC) is another unique EPS with a rapidly increasing range of applications. Due to the great prospects for their practical application, the development of their highly efficient production remains an important task. The present review summarizes the strategies for the cost-effective production of such important biomacromolecules as xanthan and BC and demonstrates for the first time common approaches to their efficient production and to obtaining new functional materials for a wide range of applications, including wound healing, drug delivery, tissue engineering, environmental remediation, nanoelectronics, and 3D bioprinting. In the end, we discuss present limitations of xanthan and BC production and the line of future research.

An original design of a simple bioreactor was used to fabricate two tubular, 200 cm long BC structures by culturing Komagataeibacter sucrofermentans B-11267 on a molasses medium. In addition, a tubular BC-based biocomposite with improved mechanical properties was obtained by combining cultivation on the molasses medium with in situ chemical modification by polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Moreover, the present study investigated the BC production by the K. sucrofermentans B-11267 strain on the media with different molasses concentrations under agitated culture conditions. The dynamics of sugar consumption during the cultivation were studied by HPLC. The structure and physicochemical properties of BC and tubular BC structures were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Thus, the findings indicate that K. sucrofermentans B-11267, when cultivated in a molasses medium, which is such a cheap waste product in the sugar industry, forms a significant amount of BC with a high crystallinity degree. The BC tubular structures demonstrated great potential for their application in biomedicine as artificial blood vessels and conduits for nerve regeneration.

The article is devoted to the study of the physico-mechanical properties and oxygen permeability of the examined conduits based on bacterial cellulose (BC) obtained using the Komagataeibacter sucrofermentans B-11267 strain. BC is considered a promising material for regenerative biomedicine. The chemical structure, crystallinity degree and porosity of BC-based conduits were characterized by means of infrared spectroscopy (IR-spectroscopy), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic-force microscopy (AFM). Both the Young’s modulus and determined tension showed the high strength of the obtained conduits. Their oxygen permeability exceeded the values for the existing analogues, and lack of cytotoxicity indicated biocompatibility, confirming that BC-based conduits may be used for biomedical purposes.

One of the pressing issues in regenerative medicine is the restoration of somatic nerve function after injury. In this study, extraction methods were used to obtain lipids from nervous tissue, followed by chromatographic separation, quantitative analysis via densitometry, and qualitative and quantitative analyses of the fatty acid composition through gas chromatography. The results showed that nerve cutting results in the accumulation of all forms of phosphoinositides and a decrease in diacylglycerol (DAG) levels in both the proximal and distal segments of the nerve conductor. This phenomenon is likely attributable to the inactivation of phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C and the activation of lipolytic enzymes, particularly phospholipases A₁ and A₂, resulting in an increase in the amount of free fatty acids (FFAs). The intramuscular administration of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) was associated with enhanced phosphoinositide metabolism, increased DAG levels, reduced FFA levels, and a redistribution of fatty acids within the studied lipid fractions. The registration method of action potentials demonstrated the restoration of nerve conduction in the proximal segment of somatic nerves following the introduction of IGF-1. This correlates with our findings regarding alterations in the lipid fraction composition of damaged nerve conductors in response to the drug’s effects. Most likely, IGF-1 exerts its effects through activation of the phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C and phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase signaling pathways, which are necessary for axonal regeneration and the restoration of functioning damaged nerve conductors.

The article is devoted to the study of the structure, physico-mechanical properties and biocompatibility of modified conduits based on bacterial cellulose (BC) to replace injured blood vessels. It has been shown that both samples have almost the same elastic recoil and are superior to synthetic vascular grafts in terms of the parameters studied. It should be noted that the first modified sample is characterized by greater elasticity and lower tensile strength compared to the second sample; however, the physico-mechanical properties of the obtained conduits are in the range corresponding to native blood vessels. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) demonstrated that the conduits under study had a fibrillar structure with nanosized pores that enabled the adhesion of endothelial cells on the internal surface of the vascular implant, improved elasticity under transverse pressure, and raised the elasticity modulus when stretching along the fibrils. Thermogravimetry revealed that elastic recoil formation depended on the nature of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) interaction with the nanofibrillar structure of BC rather than on the content of polyvinyl alcohol used for modification. The MTT test results confirmed no cytotoxicity and high oxygen permeability in the studied samples, opening great opportunities for their application in regenerative biomedicine to replace injured blood vessels.