Question

Structurally how does a polysaccharide differ from a polypeptide?

Answer 1

Polysaccharides are the molecules having chains of monosaccharide molecules in any class of carbohydrates. Examples of polysaccharides are cellulose, starch, and glycogen. A polypeptide is a molecule that is made from strings of amino acids, an example of the polypeptide is proteins.

Complete answer:
1)Based on the types of monomers, polysaccharides are the molecules that are composed of sugar monomers such as glucose, galactose, fructose, and so on, and polypeptides are the molecules that are made from amino acids and these amino acids are of 20 different types.

2)In polysaccharides, sugars are of straight-chain or in a branched form, and in a polypeptide, amino acids are always in a form of straight chains.

3)In various polysaccharide isomers, sugars can make different bonds between monomers by having alcohol groups on them, and in peptides, there are a large variety of three-dimensional structures that are made from a variety of side groups that interacts with each other to form tertiary hydrogen, electrostatic, hydrophobic interactions, and many more chains.

4)In polysaccharides, between sugar molecules, the type of bond is called the glycosidic bond that is just an ether and ester bond. In polypeptides, their structures can be modified by adding polysaccharides and fatty acids to them such as phosphorylated, acetylated, etc.

5)A polysaccharide is used to store energy and is used structurally in cells and glycocalyx and helps in the modification of proteins and lipids. Peptides are small forms of proteins and used for different purposes like potential anti-aging and anti-inflammatory etc.

Note: Hemoglobin is a molecule which is a protein that is made with the chains of amino acids as it is an example of a polypeptide. Peptides are also used in topical creams and ointments which have side effects like skin sensitivity, itching, etc.