Monomer molecule: A molecule which can undergo polymerization, thereby contributing constitutional units to the essential structure of a macromolecule.[4]
The polymerization of one kind of monomer gives a homopolymer. Many polymers are copolymers, meaning that they are derived from two different monomers. In the case of condensation polymerizations, the ratio of comonomers is usually 1:1. For example, the formation of many nylons requires equal amounts of a dicarboxylic acid and diamine. In the case of addition polymerizations, the comonomer content is often only a few percent. For example, small amounts of 1-octene monomer are copolymerized with ethylene to give specialized polyethylene.
Ethyl methacrylate is an acrylic monomer that, when combined with an acrylic polymer, catalyzes and forms an acrylate plastic used to create artificial nail extensions
For proteins, the monomers are amino acids. Polymerization occurs at ribosomes. Usually about 20 types of amino acid monomers are used to produce proteins. Hence proteins are not homopolymers.
For polynucleic acids (DNA/RNA), the monomers are nucleotides, each of which is made of a pentose sugar, a nitrogenous base and a phosphate group. Nucleotide monomers are found in the cell nucleus. Four types of nucleotide monomers are precursors to DNA and four different nucleotide monomers are precursors to RNA.
Isoprene is a natural monomer that polymerizes to form a natural rubber, most often cis-1,4-polyisoprene, but also trans-1,4-polymer. Synthetic rubbers are often based on butadiene, which is structurally related to isoprene.
^D. Margerison; G. C. East; J. E. Spice (1967). An Introduction to Polymer Chemistry. Pergamon Press. ISBN978-0-08-011891-8.
^Bruce Alberts, Alexander Johnson, Julian Lewis, Otin Raff, Keith Roberts, and Peter Walter, Molecular Biology of the Cell, 2008, Garland Science, ISBN978-0-8153-4105-5.
