In chemistry, an oligomer consists of a finite number of monomer units ("oligo" is Greek for "a few"), in contrast to a polymer which, at least in principle, consists of an infinite number of monomers. Multicolored chemicals are frequent hallmarks of chemistry. ... In chemistry, a monomer (from Greek mono one and meros part) is a small molecule that may become chemically bonded to other monomers to form a polymer. ... Polymer is a generic term used to describe a very long molecule consisting of structural units and repeating units connected by covalent chemical bonds. ...

In biochemistry, the term oligomer is used for short, single stranded DNA fragments, generally used in hybridization experiments (bound to glass slides or nylon membranes). It can also refer to a protein complex made of two or more subunits. In this case, a complex made of several different protein subunits is called a hetero-oligomer. When only one type of protein subunit is used in the complex, it is called homo-oligomer. Biochemistry is the study of the chemistry of life, a bridge between biology and chemistry that studies how complex chemical reactions give rise to life. ... The general structure of a section of DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid —usually in the form of a double helix— that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life, and most viruses. ... Hybridisation is the process of combining complementary, single-stranded nucleic acids into a single molecule. ... Nylon represents a family of synthetic polymers, a thermoplastic material, invented in 1935 by Wallace Carothers at DuPont. ... A protein complex is a group of two or more associated proteins. ... In structural biology, a protein subunit or subunit protein is a single protein molecule that assembles (or coassembles) with other protein molecules to form a multimeric or oligomeric protein. ... A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin, showing coloured alpha helices. ... A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin, showing coloured alpha helices. ...

In oligomerization a chemical process only converts monomers to a finite degree of polymerization. The actual figure is a matter of debate, often a value between 10 and 100. The degree of polymerization, or DP, is the number of repeat units in an average polymer chain at time t in a polymerization reaction. ...

See also

• Quaternary structure