Materials and Polymer Chemistry

Monomer

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Monomer is a single, smallest molecule of a chemical substance which binds chemically or supramolecularly with other molecules to form a polymer in a process called Polymerization. A multi protein complex is made up of a monomeric protein. Monomer is the basic element of the building block of an organic substance. The monomers are connected through covalent chemical bonding, which are formed by the sharing of electrons between atoms. The monomers amino acids, nucleotides, monosaccharides and fatty acids form the four macromolecules Carbohydrates, Proteins, Lipids, and nucleic acids that form up the biological system, each of which have a specific function in growth and development. The monomers of DNA are called "Nucleotides”. These nucleotides are made up of a 5-carbon sugar(deoxyribose), a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base bound to the sugar. 

The monomers according to their combination are known as dimer, trimer, tetramer, pentamer, hexamer, heptamer, octamer, nanomer, decamer, dodecamer, eicosamer. Monomers are the molecules which carry out the vital functions needed by the cells. It is essential to understand the monomer, the basic structure of polymer to create or modify or improve the already existing polymers performing various functions.

A dual functionality monomer, Glycidyl Methacrylate (GMA) is of high purity and it is suited for coating and resin applications. The key feature of a monomer is polyfunctionality, which is the capacity to form chemical bonds to at least to two other monomer molecules. The properties such as adhesion, chemical resistance, substrate wetting, improved weathering is responsible for the improved performance of monomers and oligomers which makes them most suitable for use in coatings.  There are some applications which require higher water and oxygen transmission rates without sacrificing basic mechanical or physical properties of the polymer backbone, hydrophilic properties are introduced to the polymer. The property of the monomer is changed and used in optical lenses, membranes, biomedical devices, breathable coatings and other high value-added applications.