Polymers are large molecules made by stringing togetehr many smaller molecules. 

Dehydration reaction: is a chemical reaction involving removal of a molecule of water. Cells link monomers together to form a polymer through a dehydration reaction. For each monomer added to a chain, an H2O is formed. 

Hydrolysis: is the breakdown of polymers. It is the lysing with water (hydro). Cells break bonds between monomers by adding water to them, a prcoess that is essentially the referse of a dehydration reation. The breakdown of lactose into its monomers by the enzyme lactase is an example of hydrolysis. 

Natural Polymers

Natural polymers include naturally occurring polysaccharides, such as, for example, arabinans, fucans, galactans, galacturonans, glucans, mannans, xylans (such as, for example, inulin), levan, fucoidan, carrageenan, galatocarolose, pectic acid, pectins, including amylose, pullulan, glycogen, amylopectin, cellulose, dextran, dextrin, dextrose, glucose, polyglucose, polydextrose, pustulan, chitin, agarose, keratin, chondroitin, dermatan, hyaluronic acid, alginic acid, xanthin gum, starch and various other natural homopolymer or heteropolymers, such as those containing one or more of the following aldoses, ketoses, acids or amines: erythose, threose, ribose, arabinose, xylose, lyxose, allose, altrose, glucose, dextrose, mannose, gulose, idose, galactose, talose, erythrulose, ribulose, xylulose, psicose, fructose, sorbose, tagatose, mannitol, sorbitol, lactose, sucrose, trehalose, maltose, cellobiose, glycine, serine, threonine, cysteine, tyrosine, asparagine, glutamine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, lysine, arginine, histidine, glucuronic acid, gluconic acid, glucaric acid, galacturonic acid, mannuronic acid, glucosamine, galactosamine, and neuraminic acid, and naturally occurring derivatives thereof. Accordingly, suitable polymers include, for example, proteins, such as albumin, polyalginates, and polylactide-coglycolide polymers. Exemplary semi-synthetic polymers include carboxymethylcellulose, hydroxymethylcellulose, hydroxypropylmethylcellul- ose, methylcellulose, and methoxycellulose. Exemplary synthetic polymers include polyphosphazenes, hydroxyapatites, polyethylenes (such as, for example, polyethylene glycol (including for example, the class of compounds referred to as Pluronics.RTM., commercially available from BASF, Parsippany, N.J.), polyoxyethylene, and polyethylene terephthlate), polypropylenes (such as, for example, polypropylene glycol), polyurethanes (such as, for example, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyvinyl chloride and polyvinylpyrrolidone), polyamides including nylon, polystyrene, polylactic acids, fluorinated hydrocarbon polymers, fluorinated carbon polymers (such as, for example, polytetrafluoroethylene), acrylate, methacrylate, and polymethylmethacrylate (US 2004/0048302A1).

Monoscaccharides: are simple sugars or monomers of carbohydrates that cannot be broken down into small er sugars. It is convenient to draw sugars as if their carbon skeletons are linear. When dissolved in water, however, many monosaccharides form rings when one end of the molecule forms a bond with another part of the molecule. 

–Glucose (C6H12O6): is found in soft drinks. 

–Fructose: has the same formula as clucose but its atoms are arranged differently. It is thus an isomer of glucose. 

Disaccharides: is constructed from two monosaccharides by a dehydration reation. 

–Lactose: sometimes called “milk sugar” is made form the monosaccharides glucose and galactose, and naturally found in germinating seeds. It is used in making beer, malt shiskey and liquor, malted milk shakes. It is formed from two glocose monomers. 

–sucrose: or table sugar cosists of a clucose monomer linked to a fructose monomer. Sugar manufacturers extract sucrose form the stems of sugarcane or much more often in the US from the roots of sugar beets. High fructose corn syrup is a commercial process that uses an enzyme to convert natural glucose in corn syrup to the much sweeter fructose. HFCS is a clear, goopy liquid containing aobut 55% fructose. It is much cheaper than sucrose and easier to mix into drinks and processed foods. 

Polysaccharides: are long chains of sugars –polymers of monosaccharides. 

–Starch: is a polysaccharide found in plants. Plant cells store starch, providing a sugar stockpile that can be tapped when needed. Potatoes and grains are major soureces of starch in our diet. Animals can digest starch because enzymes within their digestive systems break the bonds between glucose monomers thorugh hydrolysis reactions. 

–glycogen: is also a polymer of glucose monomers but it is more extnesively branched than starch. Most of human glycogen is sotred in liver and muscle cells. 

–cellulose: the most abundant organic compound on earth forms cable like fibrils in the tough walls that enclose plants cells and is a major component of wood. Unlike the glucose linkages in starch and glycogen, those in cellulose cannot be broken by any enzyme produced by aimals. Grazing animals and wood eating insects such as termites are able to derive nutrition from cellulose because microorganisms inhabiting their digestive tracts break it down. The cellulose in plants foods that humans eat, commonly known as “dietary fiber” passes through the digestive tract unchanged. While it does not provide any nutrients, it does help keep the digestive tract healty because its passage stimulates cells linking the digestive tract to secrete mucus, which allows food to pass smoothly. Foods rich in fiber includes fruits and vegetables, whole grans, bran, and beans. 

Water Soluble Polymers

Synthetic Water-soluble polymers: are substances that dissolve, disperse or swell in water and, thus, modify the physical proeprites of aqueous systems in teh fomr of gellation, thickiening or emulsificaiton/stabilization. These polymers usually have repeating units or blocks of units. The polymer chains contain hydrophilic groups that are substituents or are incorporated into the backbone. The hydropholic groups amy be nonionic, anionic, cationic or amphoteric. (Kadajji “Water soluble polymers for pharmaceutical applicaitons” Polymers, 3 2011). 

–Polyethylene glycol (PEG) (C2H6O2): (also known as ethylene glycol, 1, 2-ethanedial, glycol, Ethane-1,2-diol, monoethylene glycol, 107-21-1, glycol alcohol, 2-hdroxyethanol):The term “PEGylated” refers to conjugation with polyethylene glycol (PEG).  PEG is a colorless, odorless viscous alcohol.  It is poisonous and has a sweet taste. PEG is the most important glycol commerically available and used as an antifreeze and coolant as well as in hydraulic fluids. 

–Polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP): is a water soluble polymer haivng a MW ranging from 40-360k. It is syntehsized by polymerication of vinylpyrrolidone in water or isopropanol. 

Woiszwillo (US Patent 5,599,719 and 5,525,519) discloses a method for isoalting biomolecules fomr a sample by mixing the sample with a soluble, linear polymer such as polyvinylpyrrolidone, to form a precipiate. The biomocecule is found in the precipitate or is isolated from the supernatant. 

–Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA): has a hydroxyl group in its structure. It is syntehsized by the polymerication of vinyl acetate to polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) which is then hydrolysed to get PVA. 

–Polyacrylamide: is a synthetic polymer dervied from acrylamide monomer which was originally introduced for use as a support matrix for electrophoresis in 1959. 

Natural Water Soluble Polymers:

–Xanthan Gum: consists of repeating pentasaccharide units consisting of two D-glucopyranosyl units, two D-mannopyranosyl units and one d-glucopyranosyluronic unit. 

–Pectins: are mode up of mixture of polysaccharides. They are mainly obtained from citrus peel or apple pomades, both of which are by products of juice manufacturing. 

–Dextrin: see cationic polymers