Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopic analyses of cellulose from different bacterial cultivations using microspectroscopy and a high-throughput screening device

Broad application of bacterial cellulose (BC) has led to search for new commercially interesting producers and consequently also for low-cost screening methods to select BC with particular properties. BC produced by four symbiotic Kombucha associations and fourteen acetic acid bacteria isolated from these Kombucha associations were purified by frequent washing with distilled water and pre-treatment with alkali. The obtained native and mercerized BC pellicles were analysed by two common time-saving FT-IR spectroscopy methods-high-throughput screening (HTS) and microspectroscopy. The FT-IR spectra showed traces of microbial cells and acids entrapped between the microfibrils of BC even after purification with alkali. This study showed that spectra of BC collected with HTS are more informative for the evaluation of the purity of BC than those obtained by microspectroscopy, which will be preferable for studies of crystallinity. Hierarchical cluster analysis of IR-spectra was helpful for fast screening of BC samples by their producer, fermentation medium, purity, and crystallinity. This study demonstrated HTS and IR-microspectroscopy as quick and cost-efficient methods for screening of BC and search of BC with particular properties.