Cellulose is a polysaccharide and the main component of plant cell walls. As a renewable natural polymer, cellulose features interesting physical and chemical properties. However, due to its crystalline structure cellulose is insoluble in water and common organic solvents.
Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is produced by reacting cellulose with chloroacetic acid under alkaline conditions. In this reaction, hydroxyl groups on the cellulose polymer are substituted with carboxymethyl groups. The resulting CMC polymer contains linear β-(1-4)-linked D-glucose units similar to cellulose, except that some of the hydroxyl groups are replaced by carboxymethyl groups.
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