Research ArticlePreliminary Study on Biosynthesis of BacterialNanocellulose Tubes in a Novel Double-Silicone-TubeBioreactor for Potential Vascular ProsthesisFeng Hong,1,2Bin Wei,1and Lin Chen11Group of Microbiological Engineering and Industrial Biotechnology, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology,Donghua University, North Ren Min Road, No. 2999, Songjiang, Shanghai 201620, China2State Key Laboratory for Modifcation of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, ChinaCorrespondence should be addressed to Feng Hong; fong@dhu.edu.cn and Lin Chen; lchen@dhu.edu.cnReceived 13 July 2014; Revised 3 October 2014; Accepted 6 October 2014Academic Editor: Paola LaurienzoCopyright 2015 Feng Hong et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) has demonstrated a tempting prospect for applications in substitute of small blood vessels. However,present technology is inefcient in production and BNC tubes have a layered structure that may bring danger afer implanting.Double oxygen-permeable silicone tubes in diferent diameters were therefore used as a tube-shape mold and also as oxygenatedsupports to construct a novel bioreactor for production of the tubular BNC materials. Double cannula technology was used toproduce tubular BNC via cultivations with Acetobacter xylinum, and Kombucha, a symbiosis of acetic acid bacteria and yeasts.Te results indicated that Kombucha gave higher yield and productivity of BNC than A. xylinum. Bacterial nanocellulose wassimultaneously synthesized both on the inner surface of the outer silicone tube and on the outer surface of the inner silicone tube.Finally, the nano BNC fbrils fromtwo directions formed a BNC tube with good structural integrity. Scanning electron microscopyinspection showed that the tubular BNC had a multilayer structure in the beginning but fnally it disappeared and an intact BNCtube formed. Te mechanical properties of BNC tubes were comparable with the reported value in literatures, demonstrating agreat potential in vascular implants or in functional substitutes in biomedicine.1. IntroductionLarge vascular applications of vascular prosthesis (>6 mmindiameter)asasubstitutehavebeenclinicallyrealized.Synthetic materials have been used to make artifcial bloodvessels for replacement, among which expanded polytetrafu-oroethylene (ePTFE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET)arethemost acceptable. However, theproblemwiththereactivitybetweenthecomponentsinthebloodandtheinternal surface of the materials is still stubborn. For smallvessel ( 0.05). Although the suture retentionstrength was somewhat low since the tubes contained toomuch water (>98%), the suture strength of the BNC tubes iscomparable to the reported values (47 g, namely, 0.46 N) offresh human tissue-engineered vessels [33]. Te vessels withlow strength were suggested to be anastomosed to the nativeaorta without anastomotic bleeding or tearing at the sutureline [33]. Afer dehydration with absorption of tissue paper toreach a wall thickness of 1.3 mm, the suture strength of BNCvessels was improvedsignifcantly to1.620.03 N. Tis meansthat the dehydrated BNCtubes had adequate suture retentionstrength for suturing during implantation, which is generallyaccepted to be 1.0 N [34]. As suggested by Dr. Klemm, thiskind of BNCtubes can be used as substitutes of tubular organfor surgery training in medical colleges [11].4. ConclusionsAnovel bioreactorequippedwithtwooxygen-permeablesilicone tubes as mold supports in diferent diameters hasbeen successfully constructed. It was the frst time to utilizeKombucha as a production culture to biosynthesize tubularBNCmaterials and subsequently shorten the incubation timeefciently. Te preliminary results indicated that the nano BCfbrils from two directions should be interwoven together,andfnallyanintact BNCtubularmaterial wasobtainedwith desirable mechanical properties but without the layeredstructure observed in previous studies. Both the inner andouter sides of the tubular BNC material were smooth anduniform. Its mechanical properties were comparable with thereported values in literatures, and the BNC tubes own a greatpotential in vascular implants or in other functional sub-stitutes in biomedicine, for example, artifcial hollow organincluding ureter and esophagus. Te proposed productiontechnologyof thetubular BNCmaterial is quitesimple,andaccordinglyotherhollowBNCmaterialsindiferentshapes could also be produced on the basis of the introducedconcept. Morefurther investigations onbiocompatibility,hemocompatibility, compliance, andbiosafetyasimplantsand how to regulate the structure and mechanic propertiesof BNC tubes are underway.Conflict of InterestsTeauthorsdeclarethat thereisnoconfict of interestsregarding the publication of this paper.AcknowledgmentsTeproject wasfundedbytheNational Natural ScienceFoundation of China (no. 51373031), Program for New Cen-turyExcellent TalentsinUniversity(NCET-12-0828), theScience and Technology Commission of Shanghai Munic-ipality (12 nm 0500600), the Fundamental Research Fundsfor the Central Universities, the 111 Project B07024, and theState Key Laboratory for Modifcationof Chemical Fibers andPolymer Materials (Donghua University). All the fnancialsupports are gratefully acknowledged.References[1]S. L. M. 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Bachrach,Efects of carbodiimide crosslinking conditions on the phys-ical properties of laminated intestinal submucosa, Journal ofBiomedical Materials Research, vol. 56, no. 1, pp. 101108, 2001.Submit your manuscripts athttp://www.hindawi.comScienticaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014CorrosionInternational Journal ofHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Polymer ScienceInternational Journal ofHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014CeramicsJournal ofHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014CompositesJournal ofNanoparticlesJournal ofHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014International Journal ofBiomaterialsHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014NanoscienceJournal ofTextilesHindawi Publishing Corporation http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Journal ofNanotechnologyHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Journal ofCrystallographyJournal ofHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014The Scientifc World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014CoatingsJournal ofAdvances in Materials Science and EngineeringHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014 Smart Materials ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014MetallurgyJournal ofHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014BioMed Research InternationalMaterialsJournal ofHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014NanomaterialsHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Journal ofNanomaterials