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Biological Polymers

Biological Polymers
Biological polymers are small, similarly composed molecules that come together to form bigger molecules in a chain-like structure (Bailey, 2018). The smaller molecules are called monomers (one molecule). When they come together they form polymers (multiple molecules). Biological or natural polymers are used to create tissue or other structures and functions in a living organism.


(Picture of a glucose polymer)



There are four main types of biological polymers. Carbohydrates, protein, lipids, and nucleic acids (Lumen, 2016).


Carbohydrates: These molecules are composed of sugar monomers. Carbohydrates are known as saccharides and as a monomer they are called polysaccharides. The purpose of this polymer is to store energy. A couple examples of types of sugar monomers are glucose and starch (glucose picture above). Glucose is processed during respiration and is stored as energy in humans. Starch is the form of glucose for plants (Bailey, 2018).
Proteins: These molecules are the makeup of everything in our bodies. The information stored to form this polymer is contained in the DNA. The monomer of protein is amino acids. An example of this polymer is enzymes (Frits, 2018).
Lipids: These molecule are known as fats and oils. Its monomers are fatty acids, which are made up of a hydrocarbon chain with carboxyl attached at the end. Fatty acids can compose more complex lipids known as triglycerides or wax (Bailey, 2018).
Nucleic Acids: Nucleotide monomers come together and form polynucleotide chains, also known as nucleic acid. A main example of this molecule would be DNA, tRNA, or mRNA (Calem, 2017).
This is a video explaining two types of biological polymers:


Citations:
Slavery in Ancient Greece, plaza.ufl.edu/tmullins/BCH3023/carbohydrates.html.


“Protein Polymers.” WUR, www.wur.nl/en/show/Protein-polymers.htm.

Boundless. “Boundless Chemistry.” Lumen Learning, Lumen, courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-chemistry/chapter/properties-of-polymers/.
SnapRevise. “Biological Polymers | 9-1 GCSE Chemistry | OCR, AQA, Edexcel.” YouTube, YouTube, 11 Apr. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2Fv8aFxImo.

Bailey, Regina, and Kaplan AP. “What Are Biological Polymers?” Thoughtco., Dotdash, www.thoughtco.com/biological-polymers-373562.

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