Cp/mas 13c nmr and Electron Diffraction Study of Bacterial Cellulose Structure Affected by Cell Wall Polysaccharides

Acetobacterxylinum was cultured in Schramm–Hestrin medium containing pectin (pectin medium), xylan (xylan medium), or glucomannan (mannan medium). X-ray diffractometry revealed that xylan and glucomannan affected the size of the cellulose crystals and their d-spacing values. Solid-state cross polarization magic angle spinning carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy indicated that the ratio of cellulose Iα was reduced by the addition of polysaccharides. These effects were more remarkable on the cellulose in the mannan medium than that in the xylan medium, and were scarcely observed in the pectin medium. Electron diffraction analysis revealed that these effects on hemicelluloses along cellulose microfibrils are continuous in the mannan medium and discontinuous in the xylan medium. These findings suggest that the uronic acid in the polysaccharides prevents interactions with cellulose leading to alterations of the structure of the cellulose crystal.