Bacterial cellulose: application and development of a new generation of high-performance biomaterials

With the development of green manufacturing and bio-based materials, bacterial cellulose ( Bacterial Cellulose ，BC ), as a natural polymer material synthesized by microorganisms, is gradually becoming an important research and application direction in the field of new materials. Compared with traditional plant cellulose, bacterial cellulose shows significant advantages in structure, performance and application, and is widely used in medical, daily chemicals, food, functional materials and other fields.

1. What is bacterial cellulose?

Bacterial cellulose is an ultrapure cellulose material secreted by microorganisms such as Acetobacter during fermentation . Its essence is still a β-1,4- glucose chain structure, but it does not need to undergo plant extraction and chemical demixing during the production process, so it has the characteristics of high purity, uniform structure, and stable performance .

At the microscopic level, bacterial cellulose exhibits a three-dimensional nanofiber network structure , and the diameter of a single fiber is usually between 20–100 nm . This unique structure is the core source of its high performance.

2. Core performance advantages of bacterial cellulose

Compared with traditional plant cellulose and some synthetic polymer materials, bacterial cellulose has many outstanding properties:

Ultra-high purity : does not contain lignin, hemicellulose and other impurities, and has high biological safety

Excellent mechanical properties : high strength, high toughness, structural stability in wet state

Extremely strong water retention capacity : internal nano-network can lock in large amounts of moisture

Good biocompatibility : low irritation to skin and tissue

Strong designability : functional modification can be achieved through culture conditions or post-processing

These properties give bacterial cellulose significant advantages in high value-added applications.

3. Main application directions of bacterial cellulose

1. Medical and biomaterials fields

Due to its high purity and good biocompatibility, bacterial cellulose has been widely studied for use in wound dressings, tissue engineering scaffolds, medical carrier materials , etc. Its three-dimensional network structure helps maintain a moist environment and promotes tissue repair.

2. Daily chemical and personal care fields

In facial masks and dressing-type skin care products, bacterial cellulose can be used as a high-end base material. It has the advantages of high fit, strong water-locking ability, and comfortable skin feel . It is gradually replacing traditional non-woven materials.

3. Food and packaging materials

Bacterial cellulose has good film-forming and mechanical properties and can be used in food structure improvement, degradable packaging films , etc., which is in line with the current sustainable development trend.

4. Functional materials and emerging fields

Through compounding, modification, etc., bacterial cellulose can be used in new material fields such as flexible electronics, sensing materials, and functional composite membranes , showing good application potential.

4. Development Trend of Bacterial Cellulose

With the continuous maturation of fermentation process optimization, large-scale preparation and functional modification technology, bacterial cellulose is gradually moving from laboratory research to industrial application. In the future, its development will mainly focus on the following directions:

High-performance, customized product development

Composite materials and multifunctional integration

Green manufacturing and low-carbon material system

In-depth application in medical and high-end consumer fields

V. Conclusion

As a new biomaterial with both With technological advancement and application expansion, bacterial cellulose is expected to play a more important role in green material systems and promote the sustainable development of high-performance, bio-based materials.natural properties and engineering performance , bacterial cellulose is providing new material solutions for multiple industries.