Recent advances in bacterial cellulose

Bacterial cellulose (BC) produced by some microorganisms has been widely accepted as a multifunctional nano-biomaterial. It is composed of linear glucan molecules attached with hydrogen bonds, which appears similar to plant cellulose. However, when compared with other conventional natural or synthesized counterparts, BC performs better in areas such as biomedicine, functional devices, water treatment, nanofillers, etc. for its distinct superior chemical purity, crystallinity, biocompatibility, and ultrafine network architecture. When BC is incorporated in a material or used as a scaffold, novel features result that are related to BC’s intrinsic characteristics mentioned above. This review mainly summarizes the recent developments of the functional products fabricated with BC. Besides, the controllable cultivation conditions should also be discussed for expecting to make a breakthrough in its productivity. We highlight the literatures mainly in last 5 years, exerting ourselves to provide the state-of-the-art opinions in areas wherever are focused on for BC researching.