Multimer

In the natural sciences, a multimer is a molecule or a molecular complex made up of several subunits , e.g. B. Quaternary structures of proteins .

A multimer can be made up of chemically bound subunits, such as starch . In addition, the subunits can be linked by other molecular forces such as van der Waals forces , ionic bonds , hydrogen bonds or hydrophobic effects .

Multimers with a few subunits are called oligomers ( Greek oligos , `` little ''). When it comes to many subunits, one speaks of polymers (Greek polys , “a lot”).

In the context of the von Willebrand factor , multimers are divided less on the basis of the number of their subunits and more on the basis of their molecular weight .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ J. Wilce, J. Vivian, M. Wilce: Oligonucleotide binding proteins: the occurrence of dimer and multimer formation. In: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology . Volume 747, 2012, pp. 91-104, ISSN  0065-2598 . doi : 10.1007 / 978-1-4614-3229-6_6 . PMID 22949113 .
2. ↑ Marcus Stockschlaeder, Reinhard Schneppenheim, Ulrich Budde: Update on von Willebrand factor multimers . In: Blood Coagulation & Fibrinolysis . tape 25 , no. 3 , April 2014, ISSN  0957-5235 , p. 206–216 , doi : 10.1097 / mbc.0000000000000065 , PMID 24448155 , PMC 3969155 (free full text) - ( wkhealth.com [accessed November 9, 2018]).