cellulose

cellulose
—cellulosity /sel'yeuh los"i tee/, n.
/sel"yeuh lohs'/, n.
an inert carbohydrate, (C6H10O5)n, the chief constituent of the cell walls of plants and of wood, cotton, hemp, paper, etc.
[1745-55; < NL cellul(a) live cell (see CELLULAR) + -OSE2]

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Complex carbohydrate (polysaccharide) consisting of 1,000–3,000 or more glucose units in a linear chain structure that can pack into fibres of great tensile strength.

The basic structural component of plant cell walls, cellulose is the most abundant of all naturally occurring organic compounds (90% of cotton and 50% of wood). Mammals (including humans) cannot digest cellulose, but bacteria in the rumens of cattle and other ruminants and protozoans in the gut of termites produce enzymes that can break it down. Soil fungi can also break down cellulose. Its most important uses are in wood, paper, and fibre products, as an ethanol and methanol source, and specialized applications. Cellulose derivatives are used in plastics, photographic films, rayon fibres, cellophane, coatings, explosives (e.g., nitrocellulose), and foods (e.g., the stabilizer and thickener carboxymethylcellulose).

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▪ plant cell structure
 a complex carbohydrate, or polysaccharide, consisting of 3,000 or more glucose units. The basic structural component of plant cell walls, cellulose comprises about 33 percent of all vegetable matter (90 percent of cotton and 50 percent of wood are cellulose) and is the most abundant of all naturally occurring organic compounds. Nondigestible by man, cellulose is a food for herbivorous animals (e.g., cows, horses) because they retain it long enough for digestion by microorganisms present in the alimentary tract; protozoans in the gut of insects such as termites also digest cellulose. Of great economic importance, cellulose is processed to produce papers and fibres and is chemically modified to yield substances used in the manufacture of such items as plastics, photographic films, and rayon. Other cellulose derivatives are used as adhesives, explosives, thickening agents for foods, and in moisture-proof coatings.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cellulose — is an organic compound with the formula chem|(C|6|H|10|O|5|)|n, a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand β(1→4) linked D glucose units.cite book author=Crawford, R. L. title=Lignin biodegradation and… …   Wikipedia

  • Cellulose [1] — Cellulose (Pflanzenzellstoff, Zellmembranstoff der Physiologen, Holzfaser, Rohfaser der Chemiker) ist der Hauptbestandteil der pflanzlichen Zellwand – also gewissermaßen der Baustoff für das Gerüste der Pflanzen; außerdem läßt sich noch eine …   Lexikon der gesamten Technik

  • Cellulose — Cellulose …   Wikipédia en Français

  • cellulose — [ selyloz ] n. f. • 1839; de cellule et 1. ose ♦ Substance principale des parois cellulaires et des fibres de tous les tissus végétaux, polymère du glucose (C6H10O5) n, utilisée dans la fabrication du papier, des textiles et d explosifs. Produits …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Cellulose [2] — Cellulose. Die zahlreichen Verbindungen der Cellulose mit Alkalien, Metalloxyden, Mineralsäuren und mit organischen Körpern sind von C. Piest [1] übersichtlich zusammengestellt worden. Aus dem Verhalten der Cellulose zur Salpetersäure läßt sich… …   Lexikon der gesamten Technik

  • Cellulose — Cel lu*lose , n. (Chem.) The substance which constitutes the essential part of the solid framework of plants, of ordinary wood, cotton, linen, paper, etc. It is also found to a slight extent in certain animals, as the tunicates. It is a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Cellulose — Cellulose, pflanzlicher Zellstoff, Holzfaser, heißt derjenige Stoff, welcher das Gewebe der Pflanzen, das allgemeine Material für die pflanzlichen Elementarorgane, die Pflanzenzellen, bildet. In neuester Zeit hat man jedoch auch in dem Mantel der …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • cellulose — 1835, coined by French chemist Anselme Payen (1795 1871) from noun use of adj. cellulose consisting of cells, coined 18c. from L. cellula (see CELLULOID (Cf. celluloid)) + ose a French suffix forming nouns that was soon thereafter, via this usage …   Etymology dictionary

  • cellulose — ► NOUN 1) an insoluble substance derived from glucose, forming the main constituent of plant cell walls and of vegetable fibres such as cotton. 2) paint or lacquer consisting principally of cellulose acetate or nitrate in solution. DERIVATIVES… …   English terms dictionary

  • Cellulose — Cel lu*lose (s[e^]l [ u]*l[=o]s ), a. Consisting of, or containing, cells. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • cellulose — cellulose. См. клетчатка. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

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