Question

What accounts for the differences in the properties of the various polysaccharides?

Answer 1

Polysaccharides are present in all living organisms where they carry out one or more of their diverse functions. While there is no specific category or definition of a complex polysaccharide, most are structurally complex. Polysaccharides contain 1–5 different monosaccharide (sugar) units. The different sugar units may have different anomeric configurations and/or be joined by different glycosidic linkages. Polysaccharides may be linear or branched. Branches may be short saccharide units on a linear backbone or the molecule may have a branch-on-branch structure; in either case, the branches may be isolated or clustered. Polysaccharides may contain non‐carbohydrate groups. Esters or cyclic acetal groups, when present, can be removed by appropriate treatments. All polysaccharides are polydisperse, i. e., are present in a range of molecular weights rather than having a single molecular weight

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