Bacterial Cellulose Applied to the Production of an Electrical Insulating Biomaterial

Abstract

Biotechnology is the science that in the future will revolutionize the production of biomaterials for the markets, one of its most promising products is bacterial cellulose (BC). The BC has a high degree of purity, because it is not associated with other components such as lignin and hemicellulose of vegetable cellulose and, due to its nanofibrillar network in 3D, it is able to absorb water and has high tensile strength. Other characteristics, such as biocompatibility and biodegradability, result in the renewable character and in a wide range of technological applications, such as the manufacture of transparent / translucent nanocomposites and, in particular, biomedical applications, such as the production of dressings for the recovery of burned skin, where membranes release of drugs through the skin, polymeric materials for bone repair repair and cartilage, as well as several other technological areas and as reinforcement material in transparent / translucent nanocomposites. The BC membrane has been studied aiming at the usability in the production of garments, accessories and high value-added textile products and in the active packaging sector to avoid or identify contamination of food. In the biomaterials sector, numerous BC blends and composites have been synthesized to overcome their limitations and increase their applications. BC blends have antimicrobial, healing, conductive, magnetic and optical properties. The morphological and electrical characterization of BCs was the objective of this work. The BC production was carried out using agroindustrial residue. The biomaterial was morphologically characterized by MEV before and after impregnation with PHB. The incorporation of PHB into BC served to maximize the properties and physico-chemical and insulating biomaterial. Conductivity values ??compatible with semiconductors were identified for BC. The bio-nanoblend of BC + PHB also showed low conductivity value, similar to pure PHB. All the samples showed IxV behavior that suggests that the samples are