In polymer science, the backbone chain or main chain of a polymer is the series of covalently bonded atoms that together create the continuous chain of the molecule.
In polypeptides, the backbone consists of carbon and nitrogen atoms of the constituent amino acids. The backbone does not include the side chains.
Famous quotes containing the word chain:
“It could not have come down to us so far,
Through the interstices of things ajar
On the long bead chain of repeated birth,
To be a bird while we are men on earth,”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)