Cellulose

Cotton (from Arabic qutn) is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus Gossypium in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose and may contain minor percentages of waxes, fats, pectins, and water. Under natural conditions, cotton bolls facilitate the dispersal of the seeds.

Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the cell walls of green plants, many forms of algae, and the oomycetes. Some species of bacteria secrete it to form biofilms. Cellulose is the most abundant organic polymer on Earth. The cellulose content of cotton fibre is 90%, that of wood is 40–50%, and that of dried hemp is approximately 57%.

thumb|Chocolates wrapped in cellophane Cellophane is a thin, transparent sheet made of regenerated cellulose. Its low permeability to air, oils, greases, bacteria, and liquid water makes it useful for food packaging. Cellophane is highly permeable to water vapour, but may be coated with nitrocellulose lacquer to prevent this.

Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and sulfuric acid.

Celluloids are a class of materials produced by mixing nitrocellulose and camphor, often with added dyes and other agents. Once much more common for its use as photographic film before the advent of safer methods, celluloid's common present-day uses are for manufacturing table tennis balls, musical instruments, combs, office equipment, fountain pen bodies, and guitar picks.

thumb|Rayon is made by dissolving cellulose and then precipitating it into a fiber. One method is shown here using a blue solution of cellulose (Schweizer's reagent|cuprammonium hydroxide used to dissolve) and colorless sulfuric acid to precipitate. The blue color fades from the fiber over time.

chemical compound

fibrous material used notably in papermaking

400px|thumb|right|Ribbon representation of the Streptomyces lividans β-1,4-endoglucanase catalytic domain - an example from the family 12 glycoside hydrolases

cellulose derivative grafted with carboxymethyl groups

Hypromellose (INN), short for hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), is a semisynthetic, inert, viscoelastic polymer used in eye drops, as well as an excipient and controlled-delivery component in oral medicaments, found in a variety of commercial products.

thumb|Alfred Stieglitz, , collodion print by Frank S. Herrmann Collodion is a flammable, syrupy solution of nitrocellulose in ether and alcohol. There are two basic types: flexible and non-flexible. The flexible type is often used as a surgical dressing or to hold dressings in place. When painted on the skin, collodion dries to form a flexible nitrocellulose film. While it is initially colorless, it discolors over time. Non-flexible collodion is often used in theatrical make-up. Collodion was also the basis of most wet-plate photography until it was superseded by modern gelatin emulsions.

thumb|upright|Mattress with Lyocell as cover material thumb|upright|Label of a coat containing Tencel (a brand of Lyocell)

chemical compound

regenerated fibre from cellulose dissolved in cuprammonium solution

plant dry matter

polymer

any synthetic fiber which resembles silk

chemical compound

Nanocellulose is a term referring to a family of cellulosic materials that have at least one of their dimensions in the nanoscale. Examples of nanocellulosic materials are microfibrilated cellulose, cellulose nanofibers or cellulose nanocrystals. Nanocellulose may be obtained from natural cellulose fibers through a variety of production processes. This family of materials possesses interesting properties suitable for a wide range of potential applications.

pharmaceutical drug

chemical compound

natural or regenerated fibers containing cellulose

part of a plant

food additive

thumb|Devoré – or burnout technique – applied to green velvet fabric Devoré (also called burnout) is a fabric technique particularly used on velvets, where a mixed-fibre material undergoes a chemical process to dissolve the cellulose fibres to create a semi-transparent pattern against more solidly woven fabric. The same technique can also be applied to textiles other than velvet, such as lace or the fabrics in burnout t-shirts.

type of deterioration of film stock

chemical compound

base material for photographic emulsions

bleached wood pulp or cotton linters that has a high cellulose content

type of material

chemical compound

List of types

species of Alphaproteobacteria