Polysaccharides Flashcards
What are polysaccharides made of?
Large numbers of monosaccharides joined together in long chains by O-glycosidic bonds.
How many monosaccharides can be bonded in a polysaccharide?
Typically one thousand to one million monosaccharides.
What are homopolymers?
Polysaccharides made up of a single type of monosaccharide.
What are heteropolysaccharides?
Polysaccharides that have two or more types of monosaccharides in the structure.
Name the three crucial homopolysaccharides made up of glucose.
- Starch
- Glycogen
- Cellulose
What is starch composed of?
- Amylose
- Amylopectin
Describe the structure of amylose.
A linear chain of glucose joined together in 1-4 bonds with no branching.
How does amylopectin differ from amylose?
Amylopectin has branches every 24 to 30 glucose molecules on the main chain.
What kind of bond connects glucose in cellulose?
1-4 bonds.
What is the reducing end of amylose?
The end that can undergo chemical changes easily because the carbon is not connected to another monosaccharide.
What is a non-reducing end?
The end of amylose that contains the O-glycosidic linkage limiting its reactivity.
What is glycogen?
The animal form of carbohydrate storage.
How does glycogen structure differ from amylopectin?
Glycogen forms branches every 8 to 12 glucose units.
Where is glycogen primarily stored in the body?
In the liver and muscle.
What is the significance of cellulose?
It is a structural polysaccharide forming the basis for plant structures.
What makes chitin different from cellulose?
Chitin has derivatized glucose molecules in its chain.
What functional group is added to glucose in chitin?
-NH–CO-CH3 group at carbon-2.
How do polysaccharides fold?
They fold similarly to proteins due to non-covalent interactions.
What type of bonds stabilize the structure of amylose?
Hydrogen bonds.
What structural form does amylose adopt?
An alpha-helix structure.
What are the two main functions of polysaccharides?
- Energy storage
- Structure
