Question

Why are proteins called biological polymers?

Answer 1

Proteins are biomacromolecular polypeptides made up of amino acids joined by peptide bonds. All the cells are made up of proteins and they are very essential for life. Proteins are heteropolymers of amino acids.

Complete answer:
A protein known as biological polymer. The individual molecules that are small in size are called monomers and the molecules bigger in size are joined together called macromolecules. Proteins are capable of forming very complex structures and having a variety of functions.

Also, mostly enzymes which carry out the biological reactions are proteinaceous in nature. The natural polymers play a crucial role as they are used to build tissues and other components in living organisms. This is the reason that proteins are called biological polymers.

Proteins act as the body building food, an enzyme as it increases the rate of reaction, as messengers and antibodies which help to build a person’s immunity. Most proteins join in a 3-D structure and all the structures exist in nature because of the additional bonds like covalent bond, ionic bond, Vander wall force, etc. The peptide bond formed between amino and carboxyl groups of successive amino acids.

Note: Proteins are made up of amino acids. The simplest amino acid present is glycine. The term protein was coined by Gerardus Johannes Mulder (1802-1880). This term is derived from the Greek word proteios meaning ‘of the first rank’. They are the type of macromolecules of the cells which constitute about 50 percent of their dry weight. The protein having a single polypeptide chain is called monomeric protein while the proteins having two or more polypeptide chains are termed as oligomeric proteins.