In: Chemistry
choose the best answer and explain why.
Which of the following statements below is consistent with
glycosaminoglycans?
A. They are homopolysaccharides
B. They have very high density of negative charges due to their
carboxyl and sulfate groups
C. They are a key component of the membrane bilayer
Glycosaminoglycans are long unbranched polysaccharides consisting of a repeating dissacharide unit.The repeating unit consists of an amino sugar(N-acetylglucosamine or N-acetylgalactosamine) along with a uronic sugar or galactose.so option (A) is false as they are not a homopolysaccharides but a repeating unit of dissacharides.
They are found in all connective tissues, extracellular matrix and on the surfaces of many cell types. So option (C) is false as they are not components of membrane bilayer.
In general they are linear negatively charged (due to carboxyl in uronic sugar) polysaccharides which can have sulfate or non sulfate. They have a molecular weight of roughly 10-100 kilodaltons.some examples of glycosaminoglycans are chondroitin sulfate, dermatansulfate and heparin etc.
so option (b) is true. They have large molecular weight and have negative charge due to carboxyl and sulfate groups.