Abstract:

Bacterial cellulose (BC), is a natural polymer produced by certain microorganisms, which is biocompatible, easy to manufacture, has high tensile strength, and has high water retention with its nanofibril network structure. BC is a good candidate for medical applications, and also has potential in skin substitution studies thanks to its membrane structure. However, its tight cellulose nanofibers do not allow cell attachment and migration. In this study, in situ keratin modified production, and characterization of BC with sufficient pore diameters that can be potential skin substitute was aimed. BC has been produced by Gluconacetobacter xylinus ATCC 700178 strain using two different methods (agar shredding and agar dropping) to increase the pore diameter between cellulose nanofibrils using and modified with keratin as an important component of the skin. Human hair was used as the source of keratin and keratin was obtained according to the Shindai extraction method. Keratin solution was impregnated with BC membranes and the characterization of the material was carried out by FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry), SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) and physical strength tests. As a result, the production of skin replacement candidate BC, containing keratin in its structure with sufficient pore diameter (>100μm) with a tensile strength of the range between 0.1- 0.15 MPa, was produced successfully.

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