In this microstructure of DNA is a pair of biopolymers, Polynucleotide s, forming the double helix found in DNA

The term nucleic acid is the overall name for DNA and RNA, members of a family of biopolymers, and is synonymous with polynucleotide.

Some are long-chain biopolymers, and these include peptides, DNA, RNA and the polysaccharides such as starches in animals and celluloses in plants.

In biochemistry and structural biology, secondary structure is the general three-dimensional form of local segments of biopolymers such as proteins and nucleic acids ( DNA / RNA ).

There are 3 major classes of such biopolymers: DNA and RNA ( both nucleic acids ), and protein.

Common applications of force spectroscopy are measurements of polymer elasticity, especially biopolymers such as RNA and DNA.

This enzymatic process produces one of the fundamental biopolymers found in cells ( along with DNA, RNA, and proteins ).

Shifts in this resonance due to changes in the local index of refraction upon adsorption to the nanoparticles can also be used to detect biopolymers such as DNA or proteins.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption / ionization ( MALDI ) is a soft ionization technique used in mass spectrometry, allowing the analysis of biomolecules ( biopolymers such as DNA, proteins, peptides and sugars ) and large organic molecules ( such as polymers, dendrimers and other macromolecules ), which tend to be fragile and fragment when ionized by more conventional ionization methods.

There are three main classes of biopolymers based on the differing monomeric units used and the structure of the biopolymer formed: polynucleotides, which are long polymers composed of 13 or more nucleotide monomers ; polypeptides, which are short polymers of amino acids ; and polysaccharides, which are often linear bonded polymeric carbohydrate structures.

This role ranges from familiar synthetic plastics and elastomers to natural biopolymers such as nucleic acids and proteins that are essential for life.

One of the more notable characteristics of this genus is that members parasitize other Gram-negative bacteria by entering into their periplasmic space and feeding on the biopolymers, e. g. proteins and nucleic acids, of their hosts.

In biochemistry, the term is applied to the four conventional biopolymers ( nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids ), as well as non-polymeric molecules with large molecular mass such as macrocycles.

Analyses have revealed a mixture of biopolymers, containing mainly long chain fatty acids, phenylpropanoids, phenolics and traces of carotenoids.

Among the vast number of different biomolecules, many are complex and large molecules ( called biopolymers ), which are composed of similar repeating subunits ( called monomers ).

Since they are polymers, biopolymers contain monomeric units that are covalently bonded to form larger structures.

In fact, as their synthesis is controlled by a template directed process in most in vivo systems all biopolymers of a type ( say one specific protein ) are all alike: they all contain the similar sequences and numbers of monomers and thus all have the same mass.

Sugar-based biopolymers are often difficult with regards to convention.

Biomass comes from crops such as sugar beet, potatoes or wheat: when used to produce biopolymers, these are classified as non food crops.

Some biopolymers are biodegradable: they are broken down into CO < sub > 2 </ sub > and water by microorganisms.

Some of these biodegradable biopolymers are compostable: they can be put into an industrial composting process and will break down by 90 % within six months.

There are three main classes of biopolymers: polysaccharides, polypeptides, and polynucleotides.

It is an accident of history that the enzymes responsible for the catalytic production of other biopolymers are not also referred to as polymerases.

Polymers, including biopolymers, are made of repetitive units called monomers.

While polymers are often randomly constructed with massive entanglement, biopolymers often have a well defined structure.

Though polysaccharides are also biopolymers, it is not so common to talk of ' sequencing ' a polysaccharide, for several reasons.

Unlike most organisms, they are able to use their own enzymes to digest plant biopolymers such as cellulose or lignin.

A major but defining difference between biopolymers and other polymers can be found in their structures.

Two main groups of polymers exist: synthetic polymers and biopolymers.

A major but defining difference between polymers and biopolymers can be found in their structures.

* New materials based on the self-assembly of biopolymers and bio-inspired polymers, new probes for bio-imaging and synthetic biology techniques to re-engineer organisms and create hybrid biomolecules to interface with devices.

Some examples of viscoelastic materials include amorphous polymers, semicrystalline polymers, biopolymers, metals at very high temperatures, and bitumen materials.

Viscoelastic materials, such as amorphous polymers, semicrystalline polymers, and biopolymers, can be modeled in order to determine their stress or strain interactions as well as their temporal dependencies.

Such a process would be able to accept almost any polymer or mix of polymers, including thermoset materials such as vulcanized rubber tires and the biopolymers in feathers and other agricultural waste.

If the surface is patterned with different biopolymers, using adequate optics and imaging sensors ( i. e. a camera ), the technique can be extended to surface plasmon resonance imaging ( SPRI ).

Nucleic acid, so called because of its prevalence in cellular nuclei, is the generic name of the family of biopolymers.

Many biopolymers spontaneously fold into characteristic compact shapes ( see also " protein folding " as well as secondary structure and tertiary structure ), which determine their biological functions and depend in a complicated way on their primary structures.

Structural biology is the study of the structural properties of the biopolymers.

This fact leads to a molecular mass distribution that is missing in biopolymers.

As a result biopolymers have a polydispersity index of 1.

Lastly, mechanical properties of these biopolymers can often be measured using optical tweezers or atomic force microscopy.

Many types of packaging can be made from biopolymers: food trays, blown starch pellets for shipping fragile goods, thin films for wrapping.

Therefore, the use of biopolymers would create a sustainable industry.

In addition, biopolymers have the potential to cut carbon emissions and reduce CO < sub > 2 </ sub > quantities in the atmosphere: this is because the CO < sub > 2 </ sub > released when they degrade can be reabsorbed by crops grown to replace them: this makes them close to carbon neutral.

It is widely used in analytical chemistry ; though the high temperatures used in GC make it unsuitable for high molecular weight biopolymers or proteins ( heat denatures them ), frequently encountered in biochemistry, it is well suited for use in the petrochemical, environmental monitoring and remediation, and industrial chemical fields.

Equations based on Fick's law have been commonly used to model transport processes in foods, neurons, biopolymers, pharmaceuticals, porous soils, population dynamics, nuclear materials, semiconductor doping process, etc.

Laboratory synthesis of biopolymers, especially of proteins, is an area of intensive research.