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Abstract
The bacterial cellulose (BC) secreted by Gluconacetobacter xylinus is a network of pure cellulose nanofibres which has high crystallinity, wettability and mechanical strength. These characteristics make BC an excellent material for tissue-engineering constructs, noteworthy for artificial vascular grafts. In this work, the in vivo biocompatibility of BC membranes produced by two G. xylinus strains was analyzed through histological analysis of long-term subcutaneous implants in the mice. The BC implants caused a mild and benign inflammatory reaction that decreased along time and did not elicit a foreign body reaction. A tendency to calcify over time, which may be related to the porosity of the BC implants, was observed, especially among the less porous BC-1 implants. In addition, the potential toxicity of BC nanofibres — obtained by chemical-mechanical treatment of BC membranes — subcutaneously implanted in mice was analysed through bone marrow flow cytometry and histological analyses. At 2 and 4 months post-implantation, the nanofibres implants were found to accumulate intracellularly, in subcutaneous foamy macrophages aggregates. Moreover, no differences were observed between the controls and implanted animals in thymocyte populations and in B lymphocyte precursors and myeloid cells in the bone marrow.
Acknowledgements
R. A. N. P. gratefully acknowledges support by the Programme Alβ an, the European Union Programme of High Level Scholarships for Latin America (Scholarship No. E07D401931BR). S. M. is recipient of a SFRH/BPD/64726/2009 fellowship from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal). R. M. G. da C. (SFRH/BD/37565/2007) and A. C. (SFRH/BD/31354/2006) are recipients of a PhD fellowship from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal). Funding by FCT and the program COMPETE of the project PTDC/EBB-EBI/112170/2009 is acknowledged.