Nata De Coco is Both Delicious and Useful

Function

Upon hearing “nata de coco” many people probably think of the unique texture it adds to desserts. Living inside nata de coco are acetic acid bacteria that convert sugars into a fiber called cellulose. It is this cellulose that gives nata de coco its unique texture. While plants also produce cellulose, the fibers of the cellulose found in nata de coco (“bacterial cellulose”) are only 1/100-1/1000 the size of plant cellulose – on the order of 100nm thick. These fibers form a mesh structure, making the resulting material both very light and durable.

Functional Classification

Efficiency(Energy Saving, Resource Saving, Light):
High intensity
Defense/Stability:
Heat resistance

Environmental Solution Classification

Related Literature

Newton. Aug. vol. 26 No.8 p13.

Technical Application

Products and Services

Type of Business

Proposals of Applied Technology

Most displays found in cell phones and many other electronics are primarily made of glass, which makes them rigid. However, dehydrated nata de coco can be made into a flexible substrate less than 1mm thick by applying a special resin to it. Researchers have successfully prototyped an ultrathin display made from this substrate that can be bent or folded like paper. This material has also been in used in a prototype for a blood-analysis device, which is close to being ready for commercial release. The mesh-like structure of bacterial cellulose makes it suitable for use in fabricating filtration membranes and blood transfusion filters. By measuring the difference in time that it takes blood to pass through the one of these filters, physicians can detect genetic abnormalities present in the blood that may be indicative of cancer. Finally, nata de coco can be combined with a variety of materials to create high-performance composites with superior properties.

Proposals of Applied Industry

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