What is a macromolecule?

The term macromolecule is used ambiguously for a molecule composed of any "large number" of atoms, but more and more are, which means only those molecules contained at least 100 atoms. Macromolecules can also be labeled less specifically as polymers. This class of molecules is sometimes referred to as biomacromolecule or biopolymers. More often, this term is used for plastics where there are countless type examples. One of the particularly interesting features is their inability to dissolve in a solution without external assistance (for example in the form of ions or salts). Another is their tendency to break easily, often leads to erroneous prerequisites, such as the claims in the 1950s, that DNA could never be longer than 5,000 pairs of bases. Although we now know that it is terribly incorrect (DNA springs can be in tens of millions of pairs of bases), at a time when scientists broke the chains of DNA every time they bring them under a microscope.

Macromolecule components are known as monomers. Virtually all macromolecules are made of very small sets of only about fifty monomers. By connecting this small set in various configurations, it provides an extremely large number of macromolecules.

Many differences between organisms can be traced to various configurations of macromolecules in the body. There may even be a big difference in various macromolecules within a single organism.

When using, "macromolecule" may also apply to aggregates of more macromolecules that basically produce super-macromolecule. These macromolecules are not held together not together by chemical binding, but rather by intermolecular forces. Correctly, you could refer to these combinations as macromolecule complexes and components like subunits.