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Illustration of a polypeptide macromolecule
IUPAC definition

Polymer molecule

A molecule of high relative molecular mass, the structure of which essentially
molecules of low relative molecular mass.


1. In many cases, especially for synthetic polymers, a molecule can be regarded
few of the units has a negligible effect on the molecular properties. This statement
critically dependent on fine details of the molecular structure.

2. If a part or the whole of the molecule has a high relative molecular mass and
essentially comprises the multiple repetition of units derived, actually or
conceptually, from molecules of low relative molecular mass, it may be described
as either macromolecular or polymeric, or by polymer used adjectivally.[1]

A macromolecule is a very large molecule commonly created by polymerization of smaller subunits. In biochemistry, the term is applied to the three conventional biopolymers (nucleic acids, proteins, and carbohydrates),[2] as well as non-polymeric molecules with large molecular mass such as lipids and macrocycles. The individual constituent molecules of polymeric macromolecules are called monomers (mono=single, meros=part).


The term macromolecule was coined by Nobel laureate Hermann Staudinger in the 1920s, although his first relevant publication on this field only mentions high molecular compounds (in excess of 1,000 atoms).[3] At that time the phrase polymer, as introduced by Berzelius in 1833, had a different meaning from that of today: it simply was another form of isomerism for example with benzene and acetylene and had little to do with size.[4]



Structure of a polyphenylene dendrimer macromolecule reported by Müllen, et al.[7]



Macromolecules often have unusual physical properties. For example, individual pieces of DNA in a solution can be broken in two simply by sucking the solution through an ordinary straw. This is not true of smaller molecules. The 1964 edition of Linus Pauling's College Chemistry asserted that DNA in nature is never longer than about 5,000 base pairs. This error arose because biochemists were inadvertently and consistently breaking their samples into pieces. In fact, the DNA of chromosomes can be hundreds of millions of base pairs long.

Another common macromolecular property that does not characterize smaller molecules is their relative insolubility in water and similar solvents. Many require salts or particular ions to dissolve in water. Similarly, many proteins will denature if the solute concentration of their solution is too high or too low.

High concentrations of macromolecules in a solution can alter the rates and equilibrium constants of the reactions of other macromolecules, through an effect known as macromolecular crowding.[8] This comes from macromolecules excluding other molecules from a large part of the volume of the solution, thereby increasing the effective concentrations of these molecules.



Natural molecules are for example the bio-polymers such as DNA, carbohydrates, proteins and lipids, or polyphenols.


  1. ^ "Glossary of basic terms in polymer science (IUPAC Recommendations 1996)". Pure and Applied Chemistry 68 (12): 2287–2311. 1996. doi:10.1351/pac199668122287. 
  2. ^ Reece, Jane (2012). Biologie (in French) (4th (french) ed.). Pearson and Benjamin Cummings. ISBN 978-2-7613-2856-2. 
  3. ^ Staudinger, H.; Fritschi, J. (1922). "Über Isopren und Kautschuk. 5. Mitteilung. Über die Hydrierung des Kautschuks und über seine Konstitution". Helvetica Chimica Acta 5 (5): 785. doi:10.1002/hlca.19220050517. 
  4. ^ Jensen, William B. (2008). "The Origin of the Polymer Concept". Journal of Chemical Education 85 (5): 624. Bibcode:2008JChEd..85..624J. doi:10.1021/ed085p624. 
  5. ^ van Holde, K.E. (1998) Principles of Physical Biochemistry Prentice Hall: New Jersey, ISBN 0-13-720459-0
  6. ^ Jenkins, A. D. et al.; Kratochvíl, P.; Stepto, R. F. T.; Suter, U. W. (1996). "Glossary of Basic Terms in Polymer Science". Pure and Applied Chemistry 68 (12): 2287. doi:10.1351/pac199668122287. 
  7. ^ Roland E. Bauer, Volker Enkelmann, Uwe M. Wiesler, Alexander J. Berresheim, Klaus Müllen (2002). "Single-Crystal Structures of Polyphenylene Dendrimers". Chemistry – A European Journal 8 (17): 3858. doi:10.1002/1521-3765(20020902)8:17<3858::AID-CHEM3858>3.0.CO;2-5. 
  8. ^ Minton AP (2006). "How can biochemical reactions within cells differ from those in test tubes?". J. Cell. Sci. 119 (Pt 14): 2863–9. doi:10.1242/jcs.03063. PMID 16825427. 

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