Cellulose vs. Chitin

Cellulosenoun

A complex carbohydrate that forms the main constituent of the cell wall in most plants and is important in the manufacture of numerous products, such as paper, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and explosives.

Cellulosenoun

(organic compound) A polysaccharide containing many glucose units in parallel chains.

Celluloseadjective

Consisting of, or containing, cells.

Celluloseadjective

Consisting of, or containing, cells.

Cellulosenoun

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 carbohydrate, (C6H10O5)n, isomeric with starch, and is convertible into starches and sugars by the action of heat and acids. When pure, it is a white amorphous mass. See Starch, Granulose, Lignin.

Cellulosenoun

a polysaccharide that is the chief constituent of all plant tissues and fibers

Cellulose

Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula (C6H10O5)n, 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 primary cell wall of green plants, many forms of algae and the oomycetes.

Chitinnoun

(carbohydrate) A complex polysaccharide, a polymer of N-acetylglucosamine, found in the exoskeletons of arthropods and in the cell walls of fungi; thought to be responsible for some forms of asthma in humans.

Chitinnoun

A white amorphous horny substance forming the harder part of the outer integument of insects, crustacea, and various other invertebrates; entomolin.

Chitinnoun

a tough semitransparent horny substance; the principal component of the exoskeletons of arthropods and the cell walls of certain fungi

Chitinnoun

a fibrous substance consisting of polysaccharides, which is the major constituent in the exoskeleton of arthropods and the cell walls of fungi.

Chitin

Chitin (C8H13O5N)n ( KY-tin) is a long-chain polymer of N-acetylglucosamine, an amide derivative of glucose. This polysaccharide is a primary component of cell walls in fungi, the exoskeletons of arthropods, such as crustaceans and insects, the radulae of molluscs, cephalopod beaks, and the scales of fish and skin of lissamphibians, making it the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature, behind only cellulose.