Electrospinning of Bacterial Cellulose Fibres: Challenges for an Innovative Bioengineered Fibre Production Technique

In the last few years, the investigation and findings of alternative and biobased raw material sources has been a focal point of research with respect to reduced impact on the environment. Bacterial cellulose (BC), a biopolymer generated by biosynthesis process, is known for its purity, crystallinity and mechanical properties. Electrospinning of BC has shown potential in various biomedical, packaging and electronic textile-based applications. Ionic liquids (ILs) due to their low vapour pressure and high recyclability have been used in electrospinning of various biopolymers. However, there are few comprehensive studies that *Corresponding author: Subhadeep Paul, Senior Research Assistant, Living Construction Group, The Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment (HBBE), Applied Sciences Department, Northumbria University, NE1 8ST, England Submission: Published: May 27, 2024 June 07, 2024 Volume 10 - Issue 1 How to cite this article: Subhadeep Paul*, Rashi Gusain, Yunhong Jiang, Paul James and Meng Zhang. Electrospinning of Bacterial Cellulose Fibres: Challenges for an Innovative Bioengineered Fibre Production Technique. Trends Textile Eng Fashion Technol. 10(1). TTEFT. 000727. 2024. DOI: 10.31031/TTEFT.2024.10.000727 Copyright@ Subhadeep Paul. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited. investigate the contribution of ILs to electrospinning of BC fibres. This review discusses the potential of using ILs to dissolve BC and its possible effects on the fibre structure, morphology and distribution. It also summarizes the research gaps and challenges available for electrospinning of BC with ILs. Understanding of material properties of BC, the structure of ILs and structure of electro spun fibres is crucial for developing an efficient, eco-friendly and sustainable fibre production process.