BIOL 1107 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Hydrolysis, Amylase, Endergonic Reaction
Document Summary
Sugars and other carbohydrates are highly variable in structure. Monosaccharides are monomers that polymerize to form polymers called polysaccharides, and are joined by different types of glycosidic linkages. Carbohydrates perform a wide variety of functions in cells: Serving as raw material for synthesizing other molecules. Monosaccharide monomers are simple sugars that structurally vary in four primary ways: location of the carbonyl group. Aldose: found at the end of the monosaccharide. Ketose: found in the middle of the monosaccharide: number of carbon atoms present. Hexose: six: spatial arrangement of their atoms. Different arrangement of the hydroxyl groups: linear and alternative ring forms. Sugars tend to form ring structures in aqueous solutions. Many distinct monosaccharides exist because so many aspects of their structure are variable: aldose or ketose placement of the carbonyl group, variation in carbon number, different arrangements of hydroxyl groups in space, and alternative ring forms. Each monosaccharide has a unique structure and function.
