Polymers of glucose

Cellulose is the main component of the wood cell wall, typically 40—50% by weight of the dry wood. Pure cellulose is a polymer of glucose residues joined by 1,4-P-glucosidic bonds. The degree of polymerization (DP) is variable and may range from 700 to 10,000 DP or more. Wood cellulose is more resistant to dilute acid hydrolysis than hemiceUulose. X-ray diffraction indicates a partial crystalline stmcture for wood cellulose. The crystalline regions are more difficult to hydrolyze than the amorphous regions because removal of the easily hydrolyzed material has Htde effect on the diffraction pattern. 

Polysaccharides. Polysaccharides, also called glycans, are the nutrient and stmctural materials of plants. They are a principle part of the carbohydrate portion of the biomass. The most prevalent monomeric carbohydrate is glucose. Common polysaccharides are all polymers of glucose (Pig. 

Starch and cellulose are both condensation polymers of glucose. 

The polysaccharides are polymers of glucose. They include starch, which we can digest, and cellulose, which we cannot. Starch is made up of two components ... 

Starch and glycogen are storage polymers of glucose in plants and animals, respectively. Starch is the major source of energy in the diet. 

The most abundant organic molecule in the biosphere is cellulose, a polysaccharide that is the principal building material for plants. Like amylose, cellulose is a linear polymer of glucose. Unlike amylose, however, the glucose monomers in cellulose are in the ji configuration (see Figure IS-lSt. 

C13-0069. Glycogen and cellulose are both polymers of glucose. Explain why humans can use glycogen but not cellulose as an energy source. Why can cows digest cellulose, but humans cannot ... 

Figure 17-5. Amylose, cellulose. Amylose consists of a water-soluble portion, a linear polymer of glucose, the amylose and a water-insoluble portion, the amylopectin. The difference between amylose and cellulose is the way in which the glucose units are linked. In amylose, a-linkages are present, whereas in cellulose, p-linkages are present. Because of this difference, amylose is soluble in water and cellulose is not. Chemical modification allows cellulose to become water soluble.

There are five prime factors that determine the properties of starches 1. starch is a polymer of glucose (dextrose) 2. the starch polymer is of two types linear and branched 3 the linear polymeric molecules can associate with each other giving insolubility in water 4. the polymeric molecules are organized and packed into granules which are insoluble in water and 5 disruption of the granule structure is required to render the starch polymer dispersible in water. The modification of starch takes into account these factors. 

Cellulose is a high molecular weight polymer of D-glucose with fi( 1 -4)-glycosidic bonds, found in plant fibres it is the major component of most plant tissues. Starch is another common polysaccharide, containing two polymers of glucose, amylose and amylopectin. It was used in some paint preparations and in the production of paper. Acid treatment of starch produces dextrins, which are used as adhesives and additives in water colour paintings. 

Starch is the major energy store of plants chemically it is a polymer of glucose and occurs in two separate forms, amylose and amylopectin. The ratio of the two types depends on the plant that the starch has come from typically starch is 20 30% amylose and 70-80% amylopectin but there are amylomaizes with more than 50% amylose while waxy maize produces almost pure amylopectin with less than 3% amylose. 

Chemically, both varieties of starch are polymers of glucose with the a-D-glucose units in the 4Ci conformation. The glucose units are linked -(1 ->4)- in both amylose and amylopectin but in amylopectin roughly one residue in twenty is linked -(1 ->6)-, which forms branch points. The proportion of branch points varies, depending on the source of the amylopectin. 

Glycogen is a polymer of glucose and, although most tissues contain some glycogen, quantitatively important... 

Polysaccharides were the first group of polymers considered. Dextrans, polymers of glucose synthesized from sucrose, are Important Industrial polysaccharides ( ) ... 

The main product of anaerobic degradation of sugars by these organisms is lactic acid. Other products of bacterial carbohydrate metabolism include extracellular dextrans (see p. 40)—insoluble polymers of glucose that help bacteria to protect themselves from their environment. Bacteria and dextrans are components of dental plaque, which forms on inadequately cleaned teeth. When Ca salts and other minerals are deposited in plaque as well, tartar is formed. 

The isomeric polysaccharides amylose (a component of starch) and cellulose also show the significance of stereoisomerism on polymer properties. Cellulose and amylose have the structures shown in Fig. 8-8. (Amylopectin, the other component of starch, has the same structure as amylose except that it is branched at carbon 6.) Both are polymers of glucose in which the... 

Polysaccharides are composed of many monosaccharides bonded together. Common polysaccharides are cellulose, starch, and glycogen. Cellulose forms the structural material of the cell walls of plants. Cellulose is a polymer of glucose and consists of thousands of glucose molecules linked in an unbranched chain (Figure 16.6). 

---