Bacterial synthesized cellulose — artificial blood vessels for microsurgery

Besides the most popular isolation of cellulose from plants the principal pathways of cellulose include the biosynthesis by different types of microorganisms, the enzymatic in vitro synthesis, and the chemosynthesis from glucose derivatives. The present paper describes the cellulose formation using Acetobacter xylinum and d-glucose as C-source. Kinetic investigations of the biosynthesis, methods of purification, and morphological investigations of the formed cellulose are reviewed and demonstrated by own results. The properties of the bacterial cellulose are quite different from those of plant celluloses. That especially concerns the ultrafine network architecture, high hydrophilicity, and mouldability during formation. BActerial SYnthesized Cellulose (BASYC®) was designed tubularly directly during the cultivation with the aim to develop biomaterials for medical application. These formed products were applicated as covers in experimental micronerve surgery and — most important — as artificial blood vessel interpositions with inner diameter of about 1 mm. High mechanical strength in wet state, enormous water retention values, low roughness of the inner surface, and a complete ‘vitalization’ of BASYC® — microvessel-interpositions in rat experiments demonstrate the high potential of BASYC® as an artificial blood vessel in microsurgery.