10
Bacterial Nanocellulose Biomaterials with
Controlled Architecture for Tissue Engineering
Scaffolds and Customizable Implants
Paul Gatenholm, 1,3,4 Joel Berry, 2 Andrea Rojas, 1 Michael B. Sano, 1
Rafael V. Davalos, 1 Kara Johnson, 3 and Laurie O´Rourke 3
1 School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences,
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
�
2 Department of Biomedical Engineering,
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
�
3 BC Genesis, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
4 Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Biopolymer Technology,
Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
CONTENTS
Introduction.......................................................................................................... 198
BNC.as.a.Viable.Candidate.for.Tissue.Engineering.Scaffolds. ...................... 199
Scale-Dependent.Properties.of.BNC................................................................. 202
Design.of.a.Mask.and.the.Production.of.a.PDMS.Conduit.Mold. ................ 207
Testing.PDMS.Conduits.Using.Charged.Fluorescent Beads.or.
Fluorescent.Stained.Bacteria. .............................................................................. 207
Description.of.a.Prototype.BNC.Meniscus.Microweaver.............................. 210
BNC.Scaffolds.with.Microvessels...................................................................... 212
Acknowledgments............................................................................................... 213
References. ............................................................................................................. 213
The.bacterium.Gluconacetobacter xylinus.(previously.known.as.Acetobacter
xylinum). has. been. shown. to. produce. cellulose. fibrils. of. 10–30. nm. in.
diameter..Through.careful.control.of.their.motion,.it.is.possible.to.direct.
them.to.produce.well-defined.three-dimensional.(3D).scaffolds.for.tissue.
reconstruction.. This. chapter. reviews. the. state. of. the. art. in. fabrication.
of.tissue.engineered.structures.and.biomedical.implants.using.bacterial.
nanocellulose.(BNC)..Of.particular.focus.is.the.use.of.electric.fields.to.
produce. highly. oriented. cellulose. networks. and. also. the. development.
197
Bacterial Nanocellulose Biomaterials with
Controlled Architecture for Tissue Engineering
Scaffolds and Customizable Implants
Paul Gatenholm, 1,3,4 Joel Berry, 2 Andrea Rojas, 1 Michael B. Sano, 1
Rafael V. Davalos, 1 Kara Johnson, 3 and Laurie O´Rourke 3
1 School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences,
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
�
2 Department of Biomedical Engineering,
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
�
3 BC Genesis, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
4 Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Biopolymer Technology,
Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
CONTENTS
Introduction.......................................................................................................... 198
BNC.as.a.Viable.Candidate.for.Tissue.Engineering.Scaffolds. ...................... 199
Scale-Dependent.Properties.of.BNC................................................................. 202
Design.of.a.Mask.and.the.Production.of.a.PDMS.Conduit.Mold. ................ 207
Testing.PDMS.Conduits.Using.Charged.Fluorescent Beads.or.
Fluorescent.Stained.Bacteria. .............................................................................. 207
Description.of.a.Prototype.BNC.Meniscus.Microweaver.............................. 210
BNC.Scaffolds.with.Microvessels...................................................................... 212
Acknowledgments............................................................................................... 213
References. ............................................................................................................. 213
The.bacterium.Gluconacetobacter xylinus.(previously.known.as.Acetobacter
xylinum). has. been. shown. to. produce. cellulose. fibrils. of. 10–30. nm. in.
diameter..Through.careful.control.of.their.motion,.it.is.possible.to.direct.
them.to.produce.well-defined.three-dimensional.(3D).scaffolds.for.tissue.
reconstruction.. This. chapter. reviews. the. state. of. the. art. in. fabrication.
of.tissue.engineered.structures.and.biomedical.implants.using.bacterial.
nanocellulose.(BNC)..Of.particular.focus.is.the.use.of.electric.fields.to.
produce. highly. oriented. cellulose. networks. and. also. the. development.
197