Cellulose is the major component of the cell walls in plants strengthens the roots, leaves, and stems, making them rigid. It is a polysaccharide, a long molecule composed of oxygen, hydrogen, and sugar, which is very similar to sugars and starches. The hydroxide groups in cellulose are isotactic--that is, they are placed on alternating sides of the main chain. These pendant groups bind with others on long cellulose molecules to form microfibrils.

Henri Braconnet (1780-1855), a French chemist, verified the existence of cellulose in 1819. Braconnet was a leading scientist in the field of animal and plant chemistry; he was apprenticed to an apothecary in 1793 and became a pharmacist in 1795 in Strasbourg, Germany. He discovered cellulose in mushrooms and called it fungine, then began experimenting on the effects of sulfuric acid on wood. Braconnet eventually succeeded in creating a nitrated cellulose, which he...