Recent advances in cellulose science -potential of bio-nanofibers secreted by a bacterium

Recent studies showing the unique interaction of biological systems with entirely synthetic molecular assemblies have prompted consideration of a new generation of approaches for controlled nanoassembly. Acetobacter xylinum, a Gram-negative bacterium, synthesizes and extrudes a cellulose nanofiber, which will have great potentials in various fields. In this presentation, some applications of the nanofibers in medical usage and fiber-reinforcing boards will be at first reviewed briefly. Then, it will be introduced that the bacterium as a nanobuilder was found to deposit the nanofibers epitaxially, following the molecular tracks of a specific ordered cellulose substrate due to the strong interaction between the nascent nanofibrils and the ordered molecules of the template. This indicates that the conjunction of directed biosynthesis and the ordered auto-fabrication from the nano to the micro scales could lead to new methodologies for the design of functional materials with desired 3-D nanostructures.