Observations on the formation and structure of bacterial cellulose

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Abstract
Cellulosemembranes produced by Acetobacter acetigenum yield an X-ray pattern similar to that revealed by X-ray examination of cotton cellulose. Membranes from very young cultures of A acetigenum on media containing glucose, glycerol and ethylene glycol, respectively, as C sources, were examined in the electron microscope. The prepns. from the glucose media show cellulose films in which are threads, usually of a width either a little less than 250 or approximately 500 A., the latter being in the majority. The prepn. from a glycerol medium shows mainly amorphous material with a very few threads or bands of cellulose, of width approx. 500 A. The prepn. from the ethylene glycol medium also shows amorphous material with few fibrils. It is suggested that the amorphous material consists of carbohydrate at a stage of polymerization lower than cellulose.

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