cellulose

cellulose chief constituent of the cell walls of plants. Chemically, it is a carbohydrate that is a high molecular weight polysaccharide. Raw cotton is composed of 91% pure cellulose; other important natural sources are flax, hemp, jute, straw, and wood. Cellulose has been used for the manufacture of paper since the 2d cent. Insoluble in water and other ordinary solvents, it exhibits marked properties of absorption. Because cellulose contains a large number of hydroxyl groups , it reacts with acids to form esters and with alcohols to form ethers . Cellulose derivatives include guncotton, fully nitrated cellulose, used for explosives; celluloid (the first plastic), the product of cellulose nitrates treated with camphor; collodion, a thickening agent; and cellulose acetate, used for plastics, lacquers, and fibers such as rayon .

cellulose (sel-yoo-lohz) n. a carbohydrate consisting of linked glucose units. It is an important constituent of plant cell walls. Cellulose cannot be digested by humans and is a component of dietary fibre (roughage).

cellulose A polysaccharide that consists of a long unbranched chain of glucose units (see formula). It is the main constituent of the cell walls of all plants, many algae, and some fungi and is responsible for providing the rigidity of the cell wall. It is an important constituent of dietary fibre. Cellulose occurs typically as microfibrils, each consisting of long parallel arrays of 50–60 cellulose molecules. The fibrous nature of extracted cellulose has led to its use in the textile industry for the production of cotton, artificial silk, etc.