Usage of Bacterial Nanocellulose to Develop Smart Bandages

Chronic non-healing wounds are medical challenges that affect patients in countries all over the world due to their high cost to maintain along with the general discomfort in their longevity. In recent years, scientists have worked to engineer highly technical smart bandages that help mitigate these problems presented with wound management and healing. To create these bandages, they must be meticulous in finding a proper biomaterial for composition. Bacterial Nanocellulose (BNC) has proven to be a great candidate because it does not elicit any foreign body reaction and helps promote cell immobilization and support. Another advantageous characteristic of BNC is that its pellicles can be cheaply sourced from the growth of Gluconacetobacter xylinus in a lab and used as a biomaterial for the smart bandage. Using a Hestrin and Schramm (HS) media, we started by culturing the G. xylinus into 6-well culture plates and then incubating for 5 days, followed by weekly feeding with additional HS media to promote growth. This process faced a few setbacks, contamination and no growth. To address these problems, we improved our aseptic techniques to realize the growth of BNC pellicles