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A monomer (/ ˈ m ɒ n ə m ər / MON-ə-mər; mono-, "one" + -mer, "part") is a molecule that can react together with other monomer molecules to form a larger polymer chain or three-dimensional network in a process called polymerization.
Alternatively, more explicit structure-based nomenclature can be used when the polymer structure is proven. Where there is no confusion, some traditional names are also acceptable. Whatever method is used, all polymer names have the prefix poly, followed by enclosing marks around the rest of the name. The marks are used in the order: {[( )]}.
Protein structure is the three-dimensional arrangement of atoms in an amino acid-chain molecule. Proteins are polymers – specifically polypeptides – formed from sequences of amino acids , which are the monomers of the polymer.
For example, the structure of a crystalline protein or polynucleotide, such as a sample prepared for x-ray crystallography, may be defined in terms of a conventional unit cell composed of one or more polymer molecules with cell dimensions of hundreds of angstroms or more. A synthetic polymer may be loosely described as crystalline if it ...
The structure of simple macromolecules, such as homopolymers, may be described in terms of the individual monomer subunit and total molecular mass. Complicated biomacromolecules, on the other hand, require multi-faceted structural description such as the hierarchy of structures used to describe proteins .
The term nucleic acid is the overall name for DNA and RNA, members of a family of biopolymers, [13] and is a type of polynucleotide. Nucleic acids were named for their initial discovery within the nucleus , and for the presence of phosphate groups (related to phosphoric acid). [ 14 ]
The primary structure of a biopolymer is the exact specification of its atomic composition and the chemical bonds connecting those atoms (including stereochemistry).For a typical unbranched, un-crosslinked biopolymer (such as a molecule of a typical intracellular protein, or of DNA or RNA), the primary structure is equivalent to specifying the sequence of its monomeric subunits, such as amino ...
The molecular mass of the chain is just the product nM R. Other than monodisperse polymers, there is normally a molar mass distribution caused by chains of different length. In copolymers there are two or more types of repeat unit, which may be arranged in alternation, or at random, or in other more complex patterns.