amylose and amylopectin
What amylose and amylopectin means in Biology A-Level, as defined for AQA, OCR.
Definitions of amylose and amylopectin
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Reference: AQA
Starch is a mixture of two polysaccharides, not a single molecule: amylose, a long unbranched chain of 1,4 glycosidic bonds that coils into a helix, and amylopectin, which has 1,4 chains with 1,6 branch points.
Starch contains amylose, an unbranched helix of α-glucose joined by 1,4-glycosidic bonds, and amylopectin, a branched chain with 1,4 links and 1,6 branches.
Starch is a mixture of helical amylose and branched amylopectin, both built from alpha-glucose joined by glycosidic bonds.
Topics that use amylose and amylopectin
- Carbohydrates (AQA A-Level)
- Biological molecules (OCR A-Level)
Related terms
- Acid hydrolysis of non-reducing sugars
- Benedict's test for reducing and non-reducing sugars
- beta-glucose polymer
- beta-glucose rotation
- Biuret test for proteins
- Bonding and R-group interactions
- branching and rapid hydrolysis
- Carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
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