Читать книгу Biomolecules from Natural Sources - Группа авторов - Страница 35

Polymer is the generic name for a species of macromolecules which have the unique properties of repeated monomers, a linear or branched backbone or a naturally occurring or synthetic compound consisting of large molecules made up of a linked series of repeated simple monomers. In contrast, a monomer is a simple compound whose molecules are joined to form polymers. The monomeric constituents of the polymer are responsible for their properties. They either have the same chemical structures, in such cases the polymer is named a homopolymer, or they are different in their chemical structures and the polymer is named heteropolymer. The more monomers with different properties the polymer has the the wider its range of physicochemical and biological activity might be. For example, different proteins consist of different amounts and sequences of 20 amino acids. Repetition of different constituents of amino acids gives each protein its unique specificity.