Synthesis and Characterization of Bacterial Cellulose from Citrus-Based Sustainable Resources

Vasiliki Andritsou, Eduardo M. De Melo, Erminda Tsouko, Dimitrios Ladakis, Sofia Maragkoudaki, Apostolis A. Koutinas*, Avtar S. Matharu

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Citrus juices from whole oranges and grapefruits (discarded from open market) and aqueous extracts from citrus processing waste (mainly peels) were used for bacterial cellulose production by Komagataeibacter sucrofermentans DSM 15973. Grapefruit and orange juices yielded higher bacterial cellulose concentration (6.7 and 6.1 g/L, respectively) than lemon, grapefruit, and orange peels aqueous extracts (5.2, 5.0, and 2.9 g/L, respectively). Compared to the cellulosic fraction isolated from depectinated orange peel, bacterial cellulose produced from orange peel aqueous extract presented improved water-holding capacity (26.5 g water/g, 3-fold higher), degree of polymerization (up to 6-fold higher), and crystallinity index (35-86% depending on the method used). The presence of absorption bands at 3240 and 3270 cm-1 in the IR spectrum of bacterial cellulose indicated that the bacterial strain K. sucrofermentans synthesizes both Iα and Iβ cellulose types, whereas the signals in the 13C NMR spectrum demonstrated that Iα cellulose is the dominant type.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)10365-10373
Number of pages9
JournalACS Omega
Volume3
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 31 Aug 2018

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