Biological functional properties applications

Although the chemical structures of plant and bacterial cellulose are identical, the physical stmcture of bacterial cellulose is unique, being composed of ultrafine fibers that form an ultrafine network. The mechanical properties of bacterial cellulose are also unique. In this chapter, the mechanism of acetic acid bacteria cellulose biosynthesis, and its biological functions, properties, and industrial applications, are described. 

In this chapter, the mechanism of biosynthesis, and the biological functions, properties, and industrial applications of cellulose derived from acetic acid bacteria, were described. 

In medical applications some important biological properties - immunogenic, anti-tumour and anti-viral - can be exploited, as well as the established functional properties based on rheology and gel formation. 

It is therefore important to bear in mind the dependency of the carotenoid spectrum upon properties of the environment for in vivo analysis, which is based on the application of optical spectroscopies. This approach is often the only way to study the composition, structure, and biological functions of carotenoids. Spectral sensitivity of xanthophylls to the medium could be a property to use for gaining vital information on their binding sites and dynamics. The next sections will provide a brief introduction to the structure of the environment with which photosynthetic xanthophylls interact—light harvesting antenna complexes (LHC). 

The benefit of the LbL technique is that the properties of the assemblies, such as thickness, composition, and function, can be tuned by varying the layer number, the species deposited, and the assembly conditions. Further, this technique can be readily transferred from planar substrates (e.g., silicon and quartz slides) [53,54] to three-dimensional substrates with various morphologies and structures, such as colloids [55] and biological cells [56]. Application of the LbL technique to colloids provides a simple and effective method to prepare core-shell particles, and hollow capsules, after removal of the sacrificial core template particles. The properties of the capsules prepared by the LbL procedure, such as diameter, shell thickness and permeability, can be readily adjusted through selection of the core size, the layer number, and the nature of the species deposited [57]. Such capsules are ideal candidates for applications in the areas of drug delivery, sensing, and catalysis [48-51,57]. 

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