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Structural investigations of microbial cellulose produced in stationary and agitated culture

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Abstract

Structural characteristics of microbial cellulose synthesized by two different methods have been compared using FT-IR and X-ray diffraction techniques. Cellulose synthesized by Acetobacter xylinum NQ-5 strain from agitated culture conditions is characterized by a lower Iϑ mass fraction than cellulose that was produced statically. Such a decrease was in good correlation with smaller crystallite sizes of microfibrils produced in agitated culture. Formation of characteristic cellulose spheres during agitation has been investigated by various electron and light microscopic methods. On this basis, a hypothetical mechanism of sphere formation and cell arrangement in the agitated culture has been proposed. During agitation, cells are stacked together in organized groups around the outer surface of the cellulose sphere.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78713, USA

    Wojciech Czaja, Dwight Romanovicz & R. malcolm Brown

  2. Technical University of Lodz, Stefanowskiego 4/10, Lodz, 90-924, Poland

    Wojciech Czaja

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  1. Wojciech Czaja
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  2. Dwight Romanovicz
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  3. R. malcolm Brown
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Czaja, W., Romanovicz, D. & Brown, R.m. Structural investigations of microbial cellulose produced in stationary and agitated culture. Cellulose 11, 403–411 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:CELL.0000046412.11983.61

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