Conformal Bacterial Cellulose Coatings as Lubricious Surfaces

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Materials Engineering
• Microbiology

Background:

• Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a promising biomaterial due to its unique properties.
• Developing scalable and versatile methods for coating 3D objects with BC remains a challenge.
• Existing methods often lack control over coating morphology and adhesion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a facile and adaptable method for creating bacterial cellulose coatings on diverse 3D substrates.
• To investigate the influence of surface properties on bacterial adhesion and cellulose matrix formation.
• To characterize the structural and mechanical properties of the resulting bacterial cellulose coatings.

Main Methods:

• Dip-coating of 3D objects in suspensions of cellulose-producing bacteria (e.g., Komagataeibacter xylinus).
• Surface modification of substrates to enhance bacterial adhesion through controlled roughness and chemistry.
• In situ cultivation of bacterial cellulose directly on the surface of the coated objects.
• Characterization of coating morphology, fiber orientation, mechanical properties, and biocompatibility.

Main Results:

• Successful conformal coating of various 3D objects with bacterial cellulose via dip-coating.
• Enhanced bacterial adhesion and uniform hydrogel formation achieved through surface engineering.
• Out-of-plane cellulose fiber orientation resulted in high mechanical stability and energy dissipation.
• The in situ grown coatings exhibited high porosity, water content, biocompatibility, and lubricity.

Conclusions:

• A versatile and simple dip-coating method enables the fabrication of bacterial cellulose coatings on 3D objects.
• The unique fiber orientation and hydrogel properties of the coatings offer significant advantages for applications.
• These biocompatible and mechanically robust bacterial cellulose coatings hold great potential for advanced biomedical applications.