LOW MOLECULAR WEIGHT DERIVATIVES OF IONIC POLYSACCHARIDE STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES (Research Paper Sample)

LOW MOLECULAR WEIGHT DERIVATIVES OF IONIC POLYSACCHARIDE STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES
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Polysaccharides are linear or branched polymeric carbohydrates with long monosaccharide units bound together by a complex chain of glycol linkages. The linkages are heterogeneous containing a series of repeated units and macromolecules with distinct properties inherited from the primary monosaccharide building blocks. Depending on the number of monosaccharide units, polysaccharides contain at least ten isolated elements with the largest being in the oligosaccharide category. Polysaccharides can be categorized as either charged or anionic with the former including amylose, cellulose, and arabinose. Anionic polysaccharides have a homogenized but disordered structure as evident in their low molecular weight derivatives.[. Belgacem Naceu, Monomers, polymers and composites from renewable resources. (Amsterdam: Science Direct, 2013), 498.]
Structurally, ionic polysaccharides are configured into different edifices with distinct asymmetric centers. The unique asymmetries depend on the number of carbon stereoisomers grouped into hydroxyl or distal carbons. Low weight derivatives include simple alcohol, sugar acid, amino sugars, maltose, and amylose. The derivatives lack both ketone and aldehyde with carbon acting as the primary oxidizing agent.