Home Forum Dictionary Articles Tutorials Books Directory Share your work


Edit page | Page history | Printable version

Dictionary » P » Polysaccharide

Polysaccharide

Definition

noun, plural: polysaccharides

(1) Any of a class of carbohydrates formed by repeating units linked together by glycosidic bonds.

(2) A complex carbohydrate composed of a chain of monosaccharides joined together by glocosidic bonds.


Supplement

Polysaccharides (e.g. cellulose, starch, or glycogen) are characterized by the following chemical properties: (1) not sweet in taste, (2) insoluble in water, (3) do not form crystals when desiccated, (4) compact and not osmotically active inside the cells, (5) can be extracted to form white powder, and (6) general chemical formula of Cx(H2O) y.

Polysaccharides may be a homopolysaccharide or a heteropolysaccharide depending on their monosaccharide components. A homopolysaccharide consists of same types of monosaccharides whereas a heteropolysaccharide is composed of different types of monosaccharides.


Word origin: poly (many) + saccharide (sugar).

Synonym:

Compare: oligosaccharide, monosaccharide, disaccharide

See also: carbohydrate

Related terms:


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



Results from our forum


adherence to host cell-capsule hindrance

... resist attachment of complement to their cellular surfaces, and can evade these mechanisms of the host immune system. However, the bacterial polysaccharide is directly antigenic, so antibody response against different capsular polysaccharides will eventually be built by the host, rendering ...

See entire post
by PsycoCarrot
Fri Jul 06, 2012 11:48 pm
 
Forum: Microbiology
Topic: adherence to host cell-capsule hindrance
Replies: 1
Views: 2064

THE ONLY KINGDOM TO HAVE CELL WITHOUT CELL WALL?

Eukaryotes: Animalia - No cell wall Plantae - Cellulose Fungi - Chitin Protoctista - Sometimes a cell wall, polysaccharide Prokaryotes: Bacteria - Peptidoglycan Archaea - Sometimes a cell wall, but never peptidoglycan If you accidentally had Caps Lock on, I apologise for the ...

See entire post
by billyfisher100
Sat Jan 21, 2012 1:26 pm
 
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: THE ONLY KINGDOM TO HAVE CELL WITHOUT CELL WALL?
Replies: 2
Views: 2160

Bacterial Polysaccharides Cellular Localization

Hello all, I'm currently involved in a research that deals with polysaccharides degradation/utilization by bacteria in the human gut. I used a tool called pSORTb which predicts the cellular localization of proteins. In the results I get, many enzymes which ...

See entire post
by omereilam
Wed Dec 21, 2011 3:11 pm
 
Forum: Microbiology
Topic: Bacterial Polysaccharides Cellular Localization
Replies: 5
Views: 1689

Re: fructose as a monomer for a polysaccharide

I'm really appreciate it dear Daniel.kurz.

See entire post
by Maatomaat
Wed Nov 23, 2011 3:12 am
 
Forum: Cell Biology
Topic: fructose as a monomer for a polysaccharide
Replies: 9
Views: 5437

Re: fructose as a monomer for a polysaccharide

So I went back to my biochemistry textbook to find the exact wording that will satisfy everyone. I was using an incomplete explanation. The way that it goes is that the anomeric carbon (the carbon adjacent to the oxygen in the sugar ring is the one that makes the ketone group in the open ring form a...

See entire post
by daniel.kurz
Tue Nov 22, 2011 11:44 pm
 
Forum: Cell Biology
Topic: fructose as a monomer for a polysaccharide
Replies: 9
Views: 5437
View all matching forum results

This page was last modified 04:10, 21 September 2009. This page has been accessed 109,069 times. 
What links here | Related changes | Permanent link