Search results for " cellulose"

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopic analyses of cellulose from different bacterial cultivations using microspectroscopy and a high-throughput sc…

2016

Abstract Broad application of bacterial cellulose (BC) has led to search for new commercially interesting producers and consequently also for low-cost screening methods to select BC with particular properties. BC produced by four symbiotic Kombucha associations and fourteen acetic acid bacteria isolated from these Kombucha associations were purified by frequent washing with distilled water and pre-treatment with alkali. The obtained native and mercerized BC pellicles were analysed by two common time-saving FT-IR spectroscopy methods—high-throughput screening (HTS) and microspectroscopy. The FT-IR spectra showed traces of microbial cells and acids entrapped between the microfibrils of BC eve…

Shedding Light on the Formation and Structure of Kombucha Biofilm Using Two-Photon Fluorescence Microscopy

2021

Kombucha pellicles are often used as inoculum to produce this beverage and have become a signature feature. This cellulosic biofilm produced by acetic acid bacteria (AAB) involves yeasts, which are also part of the kombucha consortia. The role of microbial interactions in thede novoformation and structure of kombucha pellicles was investigated during the 3 days following inoculation, using two-photon microscopy coupled with fluorescent staining. Aggregated yeast cells appear to serve as scaffolding to which bacterial cellulose accumulates. This initial foundation leads to a layered structure characterized by a top cellulose-rich layer and a biomass-rich sublayer. This sublayer is expected t…

The gut microbiota of the wood-feeding termite Reticulitermes lucifugus (Isoptera; Rhinotermitidae)

2016

Termite gut is host to a complex microbial community consisting of prokaryotes, and in some cases flagellates, responsible for the degradation of lignocellulosic material. Here we report data concerning the analysis of the gut microbiota of Reticulitermes lucifugus (Rossi), a lower termite species that lives in underground environments and is widespread in Italy, where it causes damage to wood structures of historical and artistic monuments. A 16S rRNA gene clone library revealed that the R. lucifugus gut is colonized by members of five phyla in the domain Bacteria: Firmicutes (49 % of clones), Proteobacteria (24 %), Spirochaetes (14 %), the candidatus TG1 phylum (12 %), and Bacteroidetes (…

Development of enzymatically-active bacterial cellulose membranes through stable immobilization of an engineered beta-galactosidase

2018

Enzymatically-active bacterial cellulose (BC) was prepared by non-covalent immobilization of a hybrid enzyme composed by a β-galactosidase from Thermotoga maritima (TmLac) and a carbohydrate binding module (CBM2) from Pyrococcus furiosus. TmLac-CBM2 protein was bound to BC, with higher affinity at pH 6.5 than at pH 8.5 and with high specificity compared to the non-engineered enzyme. Both hydrated (HBC) and freeze-dried (DBC) bacterial cellulose showed equivalent enzyme binding efficiencies. Initial reaction rate of HBC-bound enzyme was higher than DBC-bound and both of them were lower than the free enzyme. However, enzyme performance was similar in all three cases for the hydrolysis of 5% l…

Thermo-responsive hydrogels from cellulose-based polyelectrolytes and catanionic vesicles for biomedical application.

2016

In this study, negatively charged catanionic vesicles/hydrophobically modified hydroxyethylcellulose polymers thermo-responsive hydrogels have been fabricated. Vesicular aggregates were found to act as multifunctional junctions for networking of modified-cellulose water solutions. The contributions of the electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions were evaluated by changing either vesicles composition or the polymer hydrophobic substitution. Thermal-induced size and lamellarity of hydrogel-enclosed vesicles were detected, with further polygonal shape changes induced by cellulose-based polymer addition. The thermal transition was also found to tune hydrogel mechanical behaviour. The network …

Encapsulation of hydrophilic and lipophilized catechin into nanoparticles through emulsion electrospraying

2017

In this work, we investigated the potential of emulsion electrospraying that contained bacterial cellulose and proteins for the encapsulation of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Specifically, two different catechins, hydrophilic (H-EGCG) or lipophilized (L-EGCG), were encapsulated either on the aqueous or the oily phase of the emulsions in order to compare the antioxidants’ stability. Emulsion properties in terms of stability, droplet size, bulk and interfacial viscosity were studied combined with the evaluation of the properties of the produced particles, namely the morphology and size of the particles, the encapsulation efficiency (EE) of catechin and the stability of the EGCG within the …

Halloysite nanotubes filled with MgO for paper reinforcement and deacidification

2021

Abstract A novel material for the deacidification and protection of paper has been designed by using MgO filled halloysite nanotubes (Hal). The ability of MgO loaded nanotubes to control the acidic conditions was evaluated by pH measurements in aqueous solvent. Afterwards, paper was impregnated into hydroxypropyl cellulose dispersions containing the consolidating material. A simulation of strong acidic conditions allowed us to evaluate the deacidification effect of the composite material on the samples. In particular, the paper reaches a pH of 7.7 after 1 h exposition to HNO3 vapours when MgO-Hal nanoparticles are added to the impregnation mixture at a concentration of 10 wt% and it remains…

Membranes Directly Prepared from Solutions of Unsubstituted Cellulose

2005

Summary: Starting from 5 wt.-% solutions of a prehydrolysis kraft pulp ( = 135 kg · mol−1) in the mixed solvent (dimethylacetamide + 7 wt.-% LiCl) we have prepared cellulose membranes on different supports according to the phase inversion process using above all acetone (AC) and 2-propanol as precipitants. In this context we have studied the phase behavior of the quasiternary system (DMAc+LiCl)/AC/cellulose. The obtained membranes are mechanically stable and in their mechanical and separation properties on the whole comparable to membranes consisting of regenerated cellulose. With respect to gas separation the ideal selectivity of CO2 in combination with N2 and O2 turns out to be opposite f…

Investigation of the Interpolymer Complex between Hydroxypropyl Cellulose and Maleic Acid-Styrene Copolymer, 1

2004

The hydrogen bonding-interpolymer association of hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) with maleic acid-styrene (MAc-S) copolymer has been investigated in dilute aqueous solution by viscometry, turbidimetry and potentiometry. At a mixing ration between MAc-S and HPC of 10:90, the solution exhibits a phase separation upon heating, while for other mixing ration no phase separation could be detected. The stability of the interpolymer complex (IPC) increases as the temperatures rises. The stoichiometry of the IPC, in mole units, was estimated as being MAc-S:HPC=5:2. The thermodynamic functions (enthalpy and entropy) of the complexation process have been determined.

2019

Abstract. We present the laboratory results of immersion freezing efficiencies of cellulose particles at supercooled temperature ( T) conditions. Three types of chemically homogeneous cellulose samples are used as surrogates that represent supermicron and submicron ice-nucleating plant structural polymers. These samples include microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), fibrous cellulose (FC) and nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC). Our immersion freezing dataset includes data from various ice nucleation measurement techniques available at 17 different institutions, including nine dry dispersion and 11 aqueous suspension techniques. With a total of 20 methods, we performed systematic accuracy and precis…