Home Forum Dictionary Articles Tutorials Books Directory Share your work


Edit page | Page history | Printable version

Dictionary » P » Polymer

Polymer

Definition

noun, plural: polymers

(1) A compound made up of several repeating units (monomers) or protomers.

(2) The product of polymerization.


Supplement

Polymers are made from monomers linked by chemical bonds. They are produced by polymerization, and occur either naturally or synthetically.

Examples of natural polymers are cellulose, shellac and amber. Biopolymers such as proteins and nucleic acids play crucial roles in biological processes.

Common synthetic polymers are Bakelite, neoprene, nylon, PVC (polyvinyl chloride), polystyrene, polyacrylonitrile and PVB (polyvinyl butyral).


Word origin: Greek polumerēs, consisting of many parts : polu-, poly- + meros, part.

Related forms: polymeric (adjective). Derived terms: biopolymer, copolymer.

Compare: monomer.


Please contribute to this project, if you have more information about this term feel free to edit this page



Results from our forum


PLGA scaffold problem

... additional note this chemical is insoluble in ethanol and isopropanol. Thus, is there any suggestion for the fabrication of the scaffold with PLGA polymer. Thanks,

See entire post
by Yeditepe
Sun Aug 12, 2012 5:03 pm
 
Forum: Cell Biology
Topic: PLGA scaffold problem
Replies: 0
Views: 1177

tRNA

Just to make it crystal clear, the proteins are polymers of amino acids, the RNA is polymer of other monomers ;) As canalon said, they have different function, but also different size and shape ;)

See entire post
by JackBean
Wed Nov 16, 2011 4:45 pm
 
Forum: Molecular Biology
Topic: tRNA
Replies: 5
Views: 3365

Re: Relationship between structure and function of glucoes

... any 1-6 bonds these cause branching -- these branches are common in starch. I wrote "Galactose is pure 1-4 α-bound glucose while starch is a polymer of the pure 1-4 β form" Oops. That should have been: Starch is pure 1-4 α-bound glucose while cellulose is a polymer of the pure 1-4 β ...

See entire post
by jonmoulton
Tue Sep 13, 2011 7:44 pm
 
Forum: Molecular Biology
Topic: Relationship between structure and function of glucoes
Replies: 12
Views: 11424

Relationship between structure and function of glucoes

... Starch is a poly-α-D-glucose. Cellulose is a poly-β-D-glucose. Am I correct? I am do not understand why you said that "starch is a polymer of pure 1-4 β form". I understand that you mean the 1-4 glycosidic linkages are formed from the β form of glucose, but isn't that the α ...

See entire post
by Adz795
Tue Sep 13, 2011 5:16 pm
 
Forum: Molecular Biology
Topic: Relationship between structure and function of glucoes
Replies: 12
Views: 11424

Re: Relationship between structure and function of glucoes

... D-glucose is a mixture of α and β forms and they are dynamically interconverting though the free aldehyde form. When the glucose is bound into a polymer, this locks the position of the ring-closing bond into either the α or β form. Galactose is pure 1-4 α-bound glucose while starch is a polymer ...

See entire post
by jonmoulton
Tue Sep 13, 2011 3:48 pm
 
Forum: Molecular Biology
Topic: Relationship between structure and function of glucoes
Replies: 12
Views: 11424
View all matching forum results

This page was last modified 08:25, 31 July 2008. This page has been accessed 59,648 times. 
What links here | Related changes | Permanent link