Biosynthesis of bacterial cellulose for in-situ assembly of intelligent packaging with natural dyes

Abstract

Natural materials such as wood, bone, and skin continue to command the respect and admiration of materials scientists. It is difficult to achieve comparable properties by the use conventional industrial manufacturing processes. In this essay we are proposing a radical approach to the preparation of future intelligent packaging materials. Rather than attempting to assemble the chemical components at a nano-scale to make an intelligent package, our proposal is to let life itself take care of much of the assembly. We propose that the natural growth of bacterial cellulose can be used as a way to prepare a well-integrated structure at the nano-scale. Additives such as natural dyes can be introduced already during biosynthesis and thus become well integrated with the packaging material from the start. For example, one can develop a smart label for pH monitoring based on bacterial cellulose doped with natural dyes extracted from natural byproducts by in situ biosynthesis of cellulose. The resulting film has potential to be used as a visual indicator of the pH variations during storage of packaged food.