Native cellulose antiparallel chain arrangement

Fig. 11.—Hydrogen-bond Seheme Proposed for Native Cellulose. (The antiparallel-chain arrangement is used to attain a hydrogen-bonding scheme that involves inter-molecular hydrogen-bonds along the principal crystallographic planes.)...

When the models incorporating antiparallel arrangement of the chains are extended to native cellulose, they pose serious questions concerning proposed mechanisms for the biosynthesis of cellulose. 

The structure of cellulose has been studied since the 19th century, when Carl von Nageli proposed the idea that natural cellulose contains ciystalline micelles—small crystallites (Wilkie, 1961 Zugenmaier, 2009). Only 70 years later, this idea was confirmed by X-ray diffraction, and as a result, the first model of monoclinic unit cell for crystalline structure of native cellulose Cl was developed by Mayer and Mish (Mayer et al., 1937). The model of Mayer and Mish with antiparallel arrangement of chains existed 30 years, whereupon it was replaced by a more accurate model with parallel arrangement of cellulose chains within crystallites (Gardner et al., 1974). Later it was discovered that in addition to crystalline structure of native cellulose Cl, there are also other crystalline allomorphs, CII, CIII, and CIV (O Sullivan, 1997). 

---