University of Houston Develops Bacterial Cellulose as a Plastic Alternative

A new method developed by Maksud Rahman, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Houston, aims to transform bacterial cellulose, a biodegradable material, into a multifunctional material that could serve as a substitute for plastic. This material is not only expected to be used in the production of the next generation of disposable water bottles but also has applications in packaging materials and even medical dressings. All these products are made from the abundant and biodegradable biopolymer, bacterial cellulose. Rahman stated, 'These bacterial cellulose sheets have high strength, multifunctionality, and eco-friendliness. We believe they will be widely used to replace plastic products in many industries and help alleviate environmental burdens. We reported a simple, one-step, scalable bottom-up strategy that utilizes the shear forces from fluid flow in a rotating culture device to biosynthesize strong, aligned nanofibrils of bacterial cellulose sheets and multifunctional composite nanoslips based on bacterial cellulose.'