Natural Polymers in Our Body

What is a polymer? A polymer is a substance that contains a large number of structural units that are bound by the same type of bond. I heard the word polymer, I think that it is made by many chemical factories. In fact, the polymer was natural from the beginning. All living things, plants, animals, and people are made of polymers. What you do not know, however, is that they are different kinds of polymers, synthetic polymers are synthesized using harmful toxins, and they are natural.

Not all polymers are made from natural polymers contained in foods such as protein, starch, carbohydrates and so on. DNA and RNA proteins in our body are natural polymers. Polymer molecules provide structure, function and protection for all organisms. Likewise, synthetic polymers are used to produce finished articles having these properties. Some plastic polymers are very hard and hard (bowling, football helmets), but other plastic polymers are soft and elastic (foam mattresses). Some polymers are heat-resistant (adhesive used for space shuttle), other polymers can be easily melted (milk jug). Some polymers can be repeatedly molded into useful objects while other polymers can withstand reforming. These properties depend on the structure of the polymer

Polymers are widely found in nature. The human body contains many natural polymers such as proteins and nucleic acids. Cellulose is another natural polymer that is a major constituent of plants. Most natural polymers are polycondensates and when formed from monomers, water is a by-product. Starch is a polycondensate consisting of hundreds of glucose monomers that break down water molecules when water molecules chemically bond. Starch is a member of the basic food group carbohydrates and is contained in cereals and potatoes. It is also known as polysaccharide since it is a monosaccharide glucose polymer. Starch molecules contain two types of glucose polymers, amylose and amylopectin, which are the major starch components of most plants and account for about three-quarters of the total starch of wheat flour. Amylose is a linear polymer with an average of about 200 glucose units per molecule.