The effects of cotton gauze coating with microbial cellulose

Microbial cellulose is a pure form of cellulose with widespread applications. It is very applicable for medical usage specially wound dressings due to its high liquid absorbency and hygienic nature. In this study, microbial cellulose formed/coated on cotton gauze samples during its biosynthesis in a static medium (Hestrin & Scharm) for 6 days by Acetobacter Xylinium. Some essential factors of treated gauze samples, like water absorbency, drying time (water holding time), and amount of vertical wicking were determined and compared with untreated samples. Results showed that cotton gauze coating with microbial cellulose increases water absorbency and wicking ability over 30%, and reduces drying time about 33%. It can be concluded that covering of cotton gauze with microbial cellulose can promote some important characteristics of it specially for wound dressings.