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Chitin, chitosan and bacterial cellulose for textiles 297

SEI 10.0 kV ×5000 1 μm WD16 mm
12.4 SEM images (×5000) of chitosan electrospuns. Electrospinning
solution, chitosan/PEO; 80/20 doping ratio. Chitosan nanofi bres
obtained with fi ne nanofi bre structure.

into fibres to suit specific applications (Liao et al., 2006). Chitin and chitosan
electrospuns were prepared using a variety of additives and/or in blends
with other biopolymers for targeted applications. Silk fibroin was used to

prepare blend nanofibres with both chitin (Park et al., 2006) and chitosan

(Park et al., 2004). Du and Hsieh (2008b) developed a two-step approach

to prepare cellulose/chitosan hybrid nanofibres starting from their deriva-
tives: cellulose acetate (CA) and dibutyryl chitin (DBC). The method
included electrospinning of the biopolymers mixture followed by simulta-
neous alkaline hydrolysis.

12.3.2 Bacterial cellulose production

By selecting the substrates, cultivation conditions, various additives, and,
finally, the bacterial strain, it is possible to control the molecular mass, the

molecular mass distribution, and the supramolecular structure of bacterial
cellulose. Thus, it is possible to control the important properties of cellulose,
and also the course of biosynthesis. A number of articles have been pub-
lished to provide detailed information on cellulose biosynthesis (Cannon
and Anderson, 1991; Kimura and Kondo, 2002; Ross et al., 1987, 1991) and
the factors affecting the production of bacterial cellulose (El-Saied et al.,
2004). Owing to the very interesting properties of bacterial cellulose for

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