Tailoring the structural and physicochemical properties of rice straw cellulose-based cryogels by cell-mediated polyhydroxyalkanoate deposition

This study presents a novel biotechnological approach for creating water vapor-resistant cryogels with improved integrity. Rice straw cellulose was transformed into nanofibrils through TEMPO-mediated oxidation and high-pressure homogenization. The resulting cryogels remained firm even when immersed in aqueous media, whose pores were used by live cell to deposit polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) particles inside them. This novel method allowed the compatibilization of PHA within the cellulosic fibers. As a consequence, the water sorption capacity was decreased by up to 6 times having just 4 % of PHA compared to untreated cryogels, preserving the cryogel density and elasticity. Additionally, this technique can be adapted to various bacterial strains and PHA types, allowing for further optimization. It was demonstrated that the amount and type of PHA (medium chain length and small chain length-PHA) used affects the properties for the cryogels, especially the water vapor sorption behavior and the compressive strength. Compared to traditional coating methods, this cell-mediated approach not only allows to distribute PHA on the surface of the cryogel, but also ensures polymer penetration throughout the cryogel due to bacterial self-movement. This study opens doors for creating cryogels with tunable water vapor sorption and other additional functionalities through the use of specialized PHA variants.