Question

What is the basic structural difference between starch and cellulose?

Answer 1

Starch consists of two components − amylose and amylopectin. Amylose is a long linear chain of ∝−D−(+)−glucose units joined by C1−C4 glycosidic linkage (∝-link).

Amylopectin is a branched-chain polymer of ∝-D-glucose units, in which the chain is formed by C1−C4 glycosidic linkage and the branching occurs by C1−C6 glycosidic linkage.

On the other hand, cellulose is a straight-chain polysaccharide of β-D-glucose units joined by C1−C4 glycosidic linkage (β-link).