CHEM120 OL, Week 7 Lab Introduction to Food Macromolecules

OL Lab 12: Introduction to Food Macromolecules Learning Objectives  Identify the types of macromolecules found in food  Identify the structure of carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids  Detect macromolecules in food samples Introduction Macromolecules are very large molecules created by the polymerization of small units called monomers. Most of the macromolecules are present in everyday life, for instance in food. Learn about biological macromolecules There are several types of biological macromolecules: carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. All macromolecules, except lipids, are polymers. A polymer is a long molecule composed of chains of monomers. Monomers are small molecules that serve as building blocks of polymers. In addition, there are also oligomers in nature. Oligomers are molecular complexes composed of a few monomer units, instead of the theoretical unlimited number of monomers. Dimers and trimers are oligomers composed of two and three monomers, respectively, such as lactose in milk for instance. However, in biochemistry, an oligomer usually refers to a macromolecular complex formed by noncovalent bonding of a few macromolecules, such as nucleic acids or proteins. An example is the oligomers found in many neurodegenerative diseases, such as the alpha-synuclein aggregations in Parkinson’s disease.