Complex carbohydrates, biological

In line with the policy of Advances to provide periodic coverage of major developments in physical methodology for the study of carbohydrates, A. Dell (London) here surveys the use of fast-atom-bombardment mass spectrometry in application to carbohydrates. This technique has achieved rapid prominence as the soft ionization technique of choice for structural investigation of complex carbohydrate sequences in biological samples. The author s extensive personal involvement in this field makes her chapter a critical, state-of-the-art overview for the specialist, as well as a valuable primer for the reader unfamiliar with this technique. 

Complex Carbohydrate Research Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, 220 Riverbend Road, Athens, GA 30602-4712, USA... 

Many of the molecules that make up living organisms are polymers, including DNA, proteins, the cellulose of plants, and the complex carbohydrates of starchy foods. We leave a discussion of these important biological molecules to Chapter 13. For now, we focus on the human-made polymers, also known as synthetic polymers, that make up the class of materials commonly known as plastics. 

Many biological functions have been attributed to complex carbohydrates, but the subject is still mainly a matter of speculation. It is in this direction that future research will put increasing effort, based on the progress in isolation and characterization methods, as well as in biosynthetic studies. We shall refer to some of the postulated functions, together with supporting experimental evidence. 

The interaction of borates with carbohydrates and other polyhydroxy componnds, inclnding perhaps proteins and glycoproteins, provides a basis for the biological role of boron. It has been shown that at least one essential role of boron in plants involves ester crosslinking of the complex carbohydrate rhamnogalactnr-onan II (RG II) as part of an intricate control mechanism vital to the maintenance of proper plant cell wall fhnction. ... 

Many other examples of simple and complex carbohydrates with useful properties exist in the biological world. In Section 27.14, we examine some carbohydrates that contain nitrogen atoms. 

---