Symbiotic culture of nanocellulose pellicle: A potential matrix for 3D bioprinting

Nanocellulose pellicle is produced as a byproduct during the symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast in kombucha. It shows good mechanical strength, biocompatibility and hydrophilicity. However, it has limited application in tissue engineering due to its low processability. In this work, bacterial cellulose-based sustainable kombucha (KBC) sheet has been produced and it was acid-treated to partially hydrolyse. This controlled process improves its extrusion and shape formation ability. The physical, functional and biological properties were studied to assess its potential as a 3D printed scaffold. Two different cell lines (Human dermal fibroblast cells and mouse osteoblast cells) were used to study the cytocompatibility. Both the cell types showed good attachment, growth and proliferation on the pure and treated KBC. They attained almost full confluence within 3 days. This study indicates that the controlled partial hydrolysis of KBC can make it suitable for 3D printing retaining its mechanical strength and cytocompatibility. This sustainable microbial biopolymer shows the possibility to be used as a bioink for 3D bioprinting.