STRUCTURE OF NASCENT MICROBIAL CELLULOSE I - EFFECTS OF METHYL AND METHOXY GROUPS OF DIRECT BLUE-1 AND BLUE-53 ON NASCENT MICROBIAL CELLULOSE

The effects of methyl and methoxy groups in Direct Blue 1 and Direct B lue 53 on the structure of nascent microbial cellulose were characteri zed by X-ray, solid stale C-13 NMR and deuteration-IR measurements. Th ere wen no other differences between these two direct dyes, except met hyl and methoxy groups. The product obtained from Acetobacter-culture in the presence of each Direct Blue 1 and Direct Blue 53 is a crystall ine complex composed of a dye and cellulose, and the product has a str ucture in which the dye molecule is between the cellulose sheets corre sponding to the (100) plane of the complex, i.e., (1(1) over bar0$) pl anes of microbial cellulose. Celluloses regenerated from both products form cellulose II. Although Direct Blue 1 contains two methoxy groups and Direct Blue 53 contains two methyl groups, different effects of t hese groups on the structure of nascent microbial cellulose were not i dentified.