Ex situ Synthesis and Characterization of High Strength Multipurpose Bacterial Cellulose-Aloe vera Hydrogels

Abstract

The innate structural and functional properties of bacterial cellulose (BC) have been greatly improved by developing its composites with other materials for its applications in different fields. In the present study, BC-Aloe vera (BCA) gel composite with high tensile strength was ex situ developed and characterized for its potential applications in environmental and medical fields. FE-SEM micrographs showed the impregnation of Aloe vera gel into the fibril network of BC. The dry weight analysis showed the addition of 40 wt.% Aloe vera contents into the BC matrix. The addition of Aloe vera resulted in a 3-fold increase in the mechanical strength of BCA composite. The critical strain or stress concentration points were accurately identified in the composite using a three-dimensional digital image correlation (3D-DIC) system. The BCA composite retained water for an extended period of up to 70 h. The BCA composite effectively adsorbed Cu, Co, Fe, and Zn metals. Moreover, the BCA composite supported the adhesion and proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells. The findings of this study suggest that the developed BCA composite could find multipurpose applications in different fields.

Preparation, Characterization, and Biological Features of Cactus Coated Bacterial Cellulose Hydrogels

“…Among the number of strategies used to develop BC composites, the surface coating is preferred due to the fact that it retains the basic morphological features of BC and augment it with additional ones coming from the functional coating. Materials addition in the BC production media for developing BC composites through in situ strategy can enhance the viscosity that, in turn, can retard the microbial activities and BC sheet formations [ 18 ]. BC composites with plant extracts, and gels including aloe vera hydrogel have been developed through ex-situ approaches [ 19 ].…”

“…Some studies have reported very high modulus of elasticity (around 30 GPa) obtained with dry and wet cactus spines [ 23 ]. Developing BCC through such approach not only protects the existing strength of BC, but also improves its strength [ 18 ]. Earlier development of BC composites with graphene oxide has depicted an increase in mechanical strength [ 24 ].…”

Active Potential of Bacterial Cellulose-Based Wound Dressing: Analysis of Its Potential for Dermal Lesion Treatment

“…In recent years, different authors have evidenced the efficiency related to the use of BC incorporated with natural components in accelerating the healing process when compared to treatment with traditional dressings, especially when analyzing the increase of antimicrobial activity, modulation of the immune system, and promotion of cell proliferation for tissue regeneration [25][26][27][28][29][30]. Among the natural components, propolis presents a great potential application for the treatment of injuries, since its 420 compounds-with a vast majority belonging to the group of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and phenolic acids-are responsible for performing different biological activities [31] such as antimicrobial [32], antioxidant [33], and anti-inflammatory [34] action.…”

Perspective Applications and Associated Challenges of Using Nanocellulose in Treating Bone-Related Diseases

“…It has been extensively used for various biomedical and other applications in the form of hydrogels, membranes, particles, and three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds, where its properties are tuned according to the target applications (Ul- Islam et al, 2015). Its innate features are modulated through the development of its composites with different materials like natural and synthetic polymers (Shah et al, 2013), nanomaterials (Ul- Khan et al, 2015;Ullah et al, 2016b), peptides (Curvello et al, 2019), ceramics (DeMello, 2012), clays (Ul- Islam et al, 2013a), plant extracts (Fatima et al, 2021;Ul-Islam et al, 2021a), and others (Mbituyimana et al, 2021). Similarly, its biological synthesis is regulated to produce BNC with controlled features in the form of mechanically and thermally stable hydrogels and form simple to complex 3D structures (Shi et al, 2016).…”