Evaluation of bacterial cellulose/hyaluronan nanocomposite biomaterials

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is useful in the biomedical field because of its unique structure and properties. The high nano-porosity of BC allows other materials to be incorporated and form reinforced composites. Here we describe the preparation and characterization of novel BC/hyaluronan (HA) nanocomposites with a 3-D network structure. BC/HA was obtained using a solution impregnation method. Elemental and ATR-FTIR analyses showed that this method is highly effective to form composites with BC. Weight loss analysis showed that BC/HA have a lower water loss than BC at 37 degrees C. The total surface area and pore volume of BC/HA films gradually decreased with the HA content, as followed by FE-SEM analysis. The elongation at break of BC/HA films gradually increased as the HA content increased. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the weight loss for the BC/HA composites were lower than for pure BC between 250 and 350 C. The results of weight loss, elongation at break and thermal stability suggested that these novel BC/HA films could be applied potentially as wound dressing materials. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.