Production of sphere-like bacterial cellulose in cultivation media with different carbon sources: a promising sustained release system of rifampicin

Abstract

Bacterial cellulose (BC) production can be performed using a static or dynamic culture method. In the static culture method, the BC is obtained presents three-dimensional thinner network structures and excellent mechanical properties. In the dynamic culture method, BC is produced in the form of granules or fibrous threads with a lower degree of polymerization, mechanical strength, and crystallinity than those formed in static fermentation. Compared with BC membranes, sphere-like BC (SBC) cultured under dynamic conditions showed advantages for adsorption due to its larger surface area. The objectives of this work were to obtain SBC, by the bacterial strain Komagataeibacter hansenii ATCC 23769, in dynamic culture, using media containing different carbon sources carbon sources, such as fructose (FRU), glucose and sucrose (MS1), sucrose (Y) and glucose (Z and HS), aiming to produce supports for sustained release of rifampicin (RIF). SBC has been produced under agitation at 130 rpm and 25 °C. SBC obtained were processed to remove bacteria and residues from the culture media and lyophilized. The SBC characterizations were performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Field emission gun-scanning electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. The SBC produced were impregnated with antibiotic RIF and tested for the sustained release capacity of this drug by diffusion method and Frans cell kinetics. SBC that the best results for all tests were produced in FRU, Z and MS1 media, respectively. The results demonstrate the potential of the SBC to contribute to the design of new drug delivery systems with biomedical applications.