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Cellulose is used to make water-soluble adhesives and binders such as methyl cellulose and carboxymethyl cellulose which are used in wallpaper paste. Cellulose is further used to make hydrophilic and highly absorbent sponges. Cellulose is the raw material in the manufacture of nitrocellulose (cellulose nitrate) which is used in smokeless gunpowder.
An area of active research on microbial cellulose is in the area of electronic paper. Currently, plant cellulose is used to produce the bulk of traditional paper, but due to its low purity it must be mixed with other substances such as lignin. However, due to microbial cellulose's higher purity and microfibril structure, it may prove to be an ...
Cellulose is a polymer made of repeating glucose molecules attached end to end. [4] A cellulose molecule may be from several hundred to over 10,000 glucose units long. Cellulose is similar in form to complex carbohydrates like starch and glycogen. These polysaccharides are also made from multiple subunits of glucose.
The straight shape allows the molecules to pack closely. Cellulose is very common in application due to its abundant supply, its biocompatibility, and is environmentally friendly. Cellulose is used vastly in the form of nano-fibrils called nano-cellulose. Nano-cellulose presented at low concentrations produces a transparent gel material.
In fact, cellulose has the important function of giving plant cells the rigidity they need to maintain their shape, so varying amounts of it are found naturally in all plants and plant-based foods.
Cellulose microfibrils are unique matrix macromolecules, in that they are assembled by cellulose synthase enzymes located on the extracellular surface of the plasma membrane. [17] It is believed that the plant can “anticipate their future morphology by controlling the orientation of microfibrils” by a mechanism where cellulose microfibrils ...
For instance, the formation of cellulose is repressed by high concentrations of glucose in the cytoplasm. On depletion of primary sources of glucose, enzymes to degrade more complex molecules such as cellulose and starch, are then released. Thus soluble sugars and amino acids are removed first from a leaf released from a tree. Starch is then ...
Not all elements which are found in the human body in trace quantities play a role in life. Some of these elements are thought to be simple common contaminants without function (examples: caesium, titanium), while many others are thought to be active toxins, depending on amount (cadmium, mercury, lead, radioactives).