Novel Biodegradable and Biocompatible Poly(3‐hydroxyoctanoate)/Bacterial Cellulose Composites

Abstract

Novel poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate), P(3HO), and bacterial cellulose composites have been developed. P(3HO) is hydrophobic in nature whereas bacterial cellulose is extremely hydrophilic in nature. Therefore, homogenized bacterial cellulose has been chemically modified in order to achieve compatibility with the P(3HO) matrix. Modified bacterial cellulose microcrystals and P(3HO) have been physically blended and solvent casted into two-dimensional composite films. Mechanical characterization shows that the Young's modulus of the P(3HO)/bacterial cellulose composites is significantly higher in comparison to the neat P(3HO) film. The melting temperature (T m ) of the composites is lower while the glass transition temperature (T g ) is higher than the neat P(3HO) film. Also, the composite film has a rougher surface topography as compared to the neat P(3HO) film. A month's in vitro degradation study has been carried out in Dulbeccos modified eagle medium and in phosphate buffer saline. The incorporation of modified bacterial cellulose microcrystal in the P(3HO) film has increased the degradability of the composite film. Finally, in vitro biocompatibility studies using human microvascular endothelial cells established the biocompatibility of the P(3HO)/bacterial cellulose microcrystal films. The cell proliferation was 50-110% higher on the P(3HO)/bacterial cellulose composites as compared to the neat P(3HO) film. Hence, in this study, for the first time, P(3HO)/ bacterial cellulose composites have been developed. The addition of bacterial cellulose has resulted in properties that are highly desirable for medical applications including the development of biodegradable stents.B330

Biocompatible polyhydroxyalkanoates/bacterial cellulose composites: Preparation, characterization, and in vitro evaluation

“…The addition of PHA in PHB matrix caused an increase of the hydrophobicity, explained by the pronounced hydrophobic character of the PHA counterpart ( θ = 79.6°, determined on “as received” PHA film). This result is in agreement with the one reported by Basnett et al, for the neat poly(hydroxyoctanoate). Incorporating BC, which is a hydrophilic material, led to a decrease of the contact angle with >3° for the dried PHB‐A/BC5 sample as compared with PHB‐A matrix.…”

Bacterial cellulose as a material for wound treatment: Properties and modifications. A review

“…The composite showed improved biodegradability and mechanical properties and also supported the proliferation of human microvascular endothelial tissue culture cells (HMAC-1s). The material can be used for the fabrication of biodegradable stents (Basnett et al, 2012). (Zhijiang et al, , 2012.…”

Review on the current status of polymer degradation: a microbial approach

“…Medical applications (Averous and Pollet 2012;Souza 2013;Basnett et al 2012;Liu et al 2011;Basnett et al 2013) Poly (3-hydroxydecanoate)…”

“…Abiotic factors play an important role in increasing the surface availability for microbial growth on polymers; these factors include photo-oxidation, physical disintegration and hydrolysis that cause decreasing molecular weight (Singh and Sharma 2008). R. ruber degrades polyethylene via colonizing on them and forms a biofilm (Basnett et al 2012). Peroxidant additives are employed in polyethylene manufacturing for agriculturally used plastic, this type of polyethylene showing susceptibility to thermal and photochemical mineralization in vitro.…”