Glucose are termed glucans. Glucose is produced by plants through the photosynthesis using sunlight, water and carbon dioxide and can be used by all living organisms as an energy and carbon source. However, most glucose does not occur in its free form, but in the form of its polymers, i.e. lactose, sucrose, starch and others which are energy reserve substances, and cellulose and chitin, which are components of the cell wall in plants or fungi and arthropods, respectively. These polymers are degraded to glucose during food intake by animals, fungi and bacteria using enzymes. All animals are also able to produce
Antimicrobial polymer polymers will have trouble diffusing through the bacterial cell wall and cytoplasm. Thus much effort has been directed towards controlling the molecular weight of the polymer. Most bacterial cell walls are negatively charged, therefore most antimicrobial polymers must be positively charged to facilitate the adsorption process. The structure of the counter ion, or the ion associated with the polymer to balance charge, also affects the antimicrobial activity. Counter anions that form a strong ion-pair with the polymer impede the antimicrobial activity because the counter ion will prevent the polymer from interacting with the bacteria. However, ions that form a loose