Impact of diverse gelatin-included culture media on fabricated bacterial cellulose/gelatin hydrogel properties: A holistic exploration.

In the realm of biomedical applications, it has become essential to modify bacterial cellulose (BC) by combining it with other biomaterials to achieve desirable properties. Recently, advances in the diversity of BC production media and their varied components have led to the development of composite hydrogels with tailored characteristics. In this study, we employed an in situ fabrication approach to synthesize and investigate the physicochemical and mechanical properties of versatile BC/gelatin (BC/Gel) composite hydrogel using three different culture media: Hestrin-Schramm (BC/Gel-HS), ethanol-containing (BC/Gel-EtOH), and a novel calcium carbonate-containing (BC/Gel-CaCO3) medium, all supplemented with 0.5wt/v% gelatin. The BC/Gel-CaCO3 hydrogels, exhibiting the highest porosity and a crystallinity degree of 87.6 ± 1.9 %, showed an impressive swelling capacity of 38.5 ± 2.5 g/g and the highest tensile strength of 0.85 ± 0.12 MPa, highlighting their potential for bioregenerative applications. In contrast, BC/Gel-HS hydrogels demonstrated a superior surface area of 76.58 ± 0.97 m2/g and a biodegradation rate of 26.7 ± 2.0 %, indicating their suitability as prospective drug delivery platforms. Furthermore, BC/Gel-EtOH hydrogels displayed enhanced pore characteristics in BET analysis alongside other notable properties, making them promising scaffolds for cell cultivation. Overall, the biosynthesized BC/Gel composite hydrogels from all tested culture media have exhibited excellent properties and multipotent capabilities, positioning them as strong candidates for a wide range of tissue engineering purposes.