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Shapes and interactions of polysaccharide chains

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Carbohydrates

Abstract

Polysaccharides form the most abundant and diverse family of biopolymers. With several hundreds of known examples they offer a great diversity of chemical structures, ranging from simple linear homopolymers to branched heteropolymers, having repeating units of up to octasaccharides. Simple polysaccharides, with a repeating structure composed of monosaccharides, are used to store energy, as in starch, glycogen, locust bean gum and guar gum. Carbohydrate functions are not limited to the storage or production of energy. Cellulose, a simple polymer of glucose, is an essential constituent of plant cell walls. It generates hard and solid elements in the form of tough fibers. The plasticity of the cell wall is further regulated via hydrated cross-linked three-dimensional networks where polysaccharides such as pectins play a key function. In marine species, carbohydrate polymers such as agar, alginates and carrageenans play a similar role. Other polysaccharides create viscous extracellular layers around bacteria. In the animal kingdom, the family of glycosaminoglycans (hyaluronate, chondroitin sulfate, derma-tan sulfate etc.) plays a key role in governing the solution properties of some physiological fluids as well as participating in the structural buildup of the intercellular matrix.

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Authors
  1. Serge Pérez
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  2. Milou Kouwijzer
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Chemical Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK

    Paul Finch

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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Pérez, S., Kouwijzer, M. (1999). Shapes and interactions of polysaccharide chains. In: Finch, P. (eds) Carbohydrates. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9281-9_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9281-9_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-4033-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-015-9281-9

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