Extraction of fibres from stinging nettles (AS)

... Laura Pearson A4.06S CORE - Extraction of 'Fibres' from Stinging Nettles Introduction In this investigation I am going to be looking at the strength of fibres taken from a stem of: (i) celery, (ii) nettle stem and the (iii) nettle its self. (i) (ii) (iii) (1) To understand the strength of the fibres I need to investigate the material they are made from. Within the fibre of the plant there are sclerenchyma, the xylem and phloem. These make up the vascular bundle and the relevant products that I am going to research are; cellulose and lignin. Cellulose Is made up of ß glucose and has glycosidic bonds between the 1st and 4th carbon, however every odd molecule is rotated 180°. This increases the stability of the polysaccharide and prevents the molecule from twisting. (2) To further create more structure the glucose molecules are linked together with neighbouring molecules by hydrogen bonds to form

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