Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) is a biopolymer that has been used in a variety of applications ranging from speaker diaphragms to biomedical products. With the exact chemical structure as that produced by plants, BNC is created by microbes like Gluconacetobacter xylinus. One of the unique aspects of BNC is its ability to have a wide variety of mechanical properties while in hydrogel form. With the ability to manipulate its mechanical properties, it is important to understand the effect each processing step has on the cellulose's strength and stability. Some of the variables that control the cellulose structure are the type of bacterial strain, culture medium, cultivation conditions and drying methods during post processing (Gatenholm et al., 2011). Post processing techniques include impregnation of wax particles to improve porosity and crosslinking of cellulose layers. Both can greatly affect the material properties.
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