Cellulose

Cellulose

 

Cellulose is a molecule that significantly influenced society and socialization and is a structural polysaccharide. The difference between structural and storage polysaccharides is the linkage between the monomer components of the polymer; storage polysaccharides contain the alpha linkages and the structural polysaccharides, such as cellulose, contain the beta configuration. To form a polysaccharide, a dehydration synthesis reaction occurs, in which the OH group from one glucose molecule and the removal of a H atom from another glucose molecule and a covalent bond or a glycosidic linkage forms between the monomers on carbon 1 of one glucose molecule and carbon 4 on the adjacent glucose molecule. The issue is that we, humans, lack the enzymes that cleave the beta linkages in the cellulose molecule, therefore we do not obtain a nutritional yield from cellulose; it only functions as an insoluble fiber or roughage. Insoluble fibers stimulate bowel movements and aid in the dissipation of waste products from the large intestine into the external environment. Certain species such as cows are capable of cleaving the beta linkages in the structural polysaccharide, cellulose, and obtain nutrients and a caloric value from the food item; however other species, such as rodents contain bacteria in their large intestines that break down the cellulose molecules into glucose units prior to the formation of feces, so the rabbits ingest their own feces in certain cases to obtain a nutritional yield from cellulose, which is pretty distasteful. Storage polysaccharides, on the other hand, are arranged in the alpha configuration and we do have the enzymes that cleave the alpha linkage in storage polysaccharides, therefore we are capable of obtaining a nutritional yield and a sugar spike from sugars such as glycogen and starch. Starch is a polysaccharide that contains millions of glucose units, along with amylose and amylopectin molecules. One amylopectin molecule is present per twenty - twenty-five glucose molecules. The linear structure of cellulose is different from the chain-like structure of starch because it contains branching units of amylopectin, which also contains cross-linkages. Since the starch molecule contains a helical-coil-like structure, it is soluble in water because in solution, the water molecules will penetrate into the helical structure of the starch molecules. Cellulose is insoluble in water. A starch solution that is constantly heated will eventually lead to the collapse of the starch molecules and fragments of starch molecules will be dispersed along the solution, which becomes a gel. The storage polysaccharide in animals and in humans, glycogen, contains many branched units of glucose and contains alpha linkages every ten glucose units. The highly branched structural arrangement in the glycogen molecule allow enzymes to cleave the ends of the glycogen molecule to induce an increase in blood glucose levels rapidly; glycogenolysis occurs when many hydrolytic enzymes cleave off ends of the glycogen molecule simultaneously to obtain units of independent glucose molecules. However, starch in plants contains less-branched amylopectin molecules and unbranched amylose molecules, which would suffice for the plant, along with its lower metabolic rate. Cotton, which consists of approximately 90% of cellulose, is obtained from the seeds of cotton plants, which are naturally found and are cultivated in many parts of the world, such as India, Pakistan, Mexico, and Peru. Cotton trade has boosted economic growth and development in areas such as England and the central industrial complex relating to the cotton trade and manufacture was located in Lancashire, England. Cotton has been imported and exported large amounts of cotton because the demand for cheap materials such as cotton to produce many different items such as carpets and clothing was high and the cotton trade significantly impacted industrialization and the economy, especially in England during the late 18^th century. The working conditions on farms where cotton used to be cultivated were harsh; people were forced to work hard to extract and process the cotton and produce various items such as clothing and the quality of life in those regions were not too high and the infant mortality increased as a result of the poor working conditions. Owners of businesses and factories desired to continue generating large amounts of profit from the cotton trade, which would have been affected it effort would have been inputted to attempt to improve to working conditions. The abolishment of the slave trade in 1807 has only caused factory owners and wealthy people who made their fortune from the cotton trade to import cotton from other areas of the world, such as South America, which contains slave-grown cotton. Slavery has only been expanded as a result of the huge profits the monopoly of the cotton trade could generate as a result of the high demand for cotton; cotton fibers were used to produce and manufacture clothing and furniture, very commonly used products. Cellulose is a very abundant organic compound and is biosynthesized in huge quantities every year. Friedrich Schonbein accidently synthesized nitrocellulose or guncotton by accidentally spilling nitric acid on the floor and attempting to clean up the spill using his wife’s cotton apron; an explosion and a flash has been produced. A derivative of nitrocellulose, celluloid, has been used in cameras to generate flashes and to illuminate films, however casualties have occurred because nitrated forms of cellulose tend to be unstable and unpredictable. Guncotton is one of the first explosive compounds that have been synthesized and its derivatives were patented to generate profit because various industries, including the photography industry was interested in applying one of the derivatives to attain certain goals or to facilitate improvements. The author’s argument makes sense because the influence of this molecule and its derivatives on history, human behavior, and society has been portrayed effectively in this chapter. Therefore, both cellulose, with its beta configuration, and starch, with its alpha configuration, are necessary in our diet to provide our cells with an ample supply of glucose to produce energy and to remove waste products from the gastrointestinal tract. Cotton is used by almost everybody and cotton-containing products are produced in huge quantities annually. Cellulose is ingested as an insoluble fiber in a variety of products, such as watermelons, broccoli, and pumpkins. The trade, usage, applications, production, and cultivation of cotton and derivatives of cellulose such as nitrocellulose and celluloid have impacted industrialization and have contributed to social change and movements due to the huge profits that are generated from cotton trade, the high demand for cheap cotton products, and the various applications of cotton in society, including the production and manufacture of clothing and furniture. Currently, in every home and on everybody’s body, a product that contains cotton is present, whether it is a t-shirt of a carpet, are not noticed behind the various plans and pursuits that are present in people’s minds.