Carbohydrate

Description

Any compound that contains sugar as a structural unit. Carbohydrates include monosaccharides (Fructose, Glucose), disaccharides (Sucrose, Maltose, Lactose) and polysaccharides (Starch, Cellulose, Gum, Agar, Carrageenan). They are manufactured by plants and provide the major source of energy for animals and people. Simple carbohydrates, such as sugars, are water-soluble with a sweet taste. Starches and gums are composed of repeating saccharide groups. They swell in water to form a gel and can be hydrolyzed to obtain their sugar constituents. Cellulose is insoluble in water and organic solvents. Carbohydrates are used as paint binders, varnishes, adhesives, and sizing agents.

Resources and Citations

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p.137

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• Richard C. Wolbers, Nanette T. Sterman, Chris Stavroudis, Notes for Workshop on New Methods in the Cleaning of Paintings, J.Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 1990

• John S. Mills, Raymond White, The Organic Chemistry of Museum Objects, Butterworth Heineman, London, 2nd ed., 1994

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000