Production, characterization and biological evaluation of bacterial cellulose from Bacillus species BC1

In this study, a bacterial cellulose (BC - producing) strain, BC1, was isolated from the open-air environment by exposing fresh wine. Based on 16S rRNA sequence analysis, the strain was identified as Bacillus sp. BC1. BC production was carried out in static liquid culture using both Hestrin–Schramm (HS) broth and tea extract (TE) broth. A higher yield of BC was obtained in TE broth than in HS broth. The cellulosic nature of the pellicle produced by Bacillus sp. BC1 was confirmed by SEM, FT - IR and XRD analysis. Characterisation studies revealed good thermal stability, excellent tensile strength and superior water-holding and retention capacities, while zeta potential measurements demonstrated the colloidal stability and surface charge of the BC. The molecular mass of BC was determined using LC - MS and MALDI - TOF MS analysis. In antimicrobial assays, povidone-iodine-coated BC showed inhibition zones of 25–29 mm, whereas squalene-coated BC showed inhibition zones of 10–19 mm against the tested pathogens. In an antioxidant radical-scavenging assay, squalene-coated BC exhibited a maximum of 93% radical-scavenging activity at a concentration of 350 µg/ml. These results indicate that the BC produced in this study is a safe material for wound-healing applications, with promising antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. Further whole-genome sequence analysis of Bacillus sp. is in progress to elucidate the genetic and biochemical pathways underlying cellulose production.