Standardizing the Production and Processing of Bacterial Nanocellulose to Produce Microparticles via a Spray-Dried Method with the Potential to Be Used in the Food Industry

This article proposes a standard protocol to produce bacterial nanocellulose (<i>Komagateibacter medellinensis</i>). It will briefly review the main raw materials (common agro-industrial waste in tropical countries), process of obtaining bacterial nanocellulose membranes, and the cleaning process for said membranes. The processing of the membranes using a grinder and Ultra-Turrax is then shown, listing the characteristics provided by each of these methods to produce bacterial nanocellulose microparticles by spray drying. The average microparticle size obtained by spray drying was (4.76 ± 1.12 µm), and thermal stability (maximum degradation temperature) was 345 °C. This research clearly states that the grinder was selected as the most efficient mechanical method due to its improved dispersion performance and lower clogging during spray drying. Finally, physical (scanning electron microscopy-SEM, transmission electron microscopy-TEM, and thermogravimetric analyzer-TGA) and microbiological (mesophiles, yeasts, fungi, and fecal coliforms) characterization is demonstrated. These microparticles are intended to be used in the food industry to produce functional and enriched foods, protecting the bioactive components of interest.