Synthesis and Characterization of Bacterial Cellulose Nanocrystalline as Candidate of Drug Delivery System for Phycocyanin
Heli Siti Halimatul Munawaroh, Budiman Anwar, Galuh Yuliani, Intan Cahaya Murni, Gun Gun Gumilar

Study Program of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry Education, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia

Abstract

Phycocyanin (PC), the blue pigment of cyanobacteria Spirulina, is widely used as a blue natural colorant in food, beverages, and cosmetics. However, its utilization in the industry was limited due to its relatively pH labile properties. A suitable compound was required to prevent the bound protein of PC from degradation during the transport. Here, this study aims to synthesize and characterize the prospective compound for a candidate of drug delivery system (DDS). Bacterial Cellulose Nanocrystals (BCNC) can be used as DDS due to their remarkable properties, such as nanoparticle size, large surface area, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and availability. The BCNC was isolated from BC through acids hydrolysis process. The FTIR spectra revealed that BCNC has successfully isolated from bacterial cellulose (BC) and the hydrolysis reaction did not significantly alter the chemical composition of BC. The needle-like nanocrystals were observed by TEM with a particle diameter and average length of 25±10 and 626±172 nm, respectively. The higher crystallinity index of BCNC than those of BC indicated that the number of crystalline materials available abundantly in BCNC, which can be utilized for many applications. The PC sorption was developed to demonstrate the application of BCNC as DDS and found to be governed by the Langmuir isotherm model. These current results suggest that BCNC could be exploited as a candidate for the delivery system.

Keywords: bacterial cellulose, drug-delivery system (DDS), nanocrytalline cellulose phycocyanin, Spirulina

Topic: Chemistry