BNC nanocellulose

Bacteria synthesised nanocellulose (BNC) is a novel and very high-quality biopolymer that can be obtained from sugar in a single step. Its application is versatile, since the material has proven to be particularly compatible with the human body.

Active ingredients

• A carrier for active ingredients (e.g. collagen-based masks) implants/vessel materials
• Cooling face masks, dietary/ food supplements
• Eye pads ("anti-ageing"), electronic papers/smart cards
• accumulation/stabilisation of active substances in cosmetic products

Other potential applications

In addition to the described uses of BNC in the field of cosmetics, there are also further applications such as:

• Implants/vessel material
• Textile fibres
• Dressings
• Packing material

The BNC material has a number of determining advantages over vegetable cellulose and also to some extent over synthetic polymers:

• high purity (it is free of lignin, hemicellulose and pectin)
• in-situ formability
• high degree of polymerisation and crystallinity
• very large internal surface area thanks to the nanofibre network
• high mechanical stability
• controllable biodegradability
• increases the flexural strength and elasticity of synthetic polymers
• tensile and tear strength as well as
• high water absorption and water retention capacity

EPC Engineering Consulting GmbH is currently working on a joint project with the "Friedrich Schiller University Jena" Institute of Technical and Environmental Chemistry and Polymet Jena e.V. on the transfer of a newly developed, efficient small-scale cultivation process. The project has been funded by the Thuringian Development Bank and the European Union.

In 2010, EPC won the 13th Thuringian Innovation Award in the INDUSTRY AND MATERIAL category on the theme of "The continuous production of innovative biopolymer nanocellulose"
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