Biochemistry

A methyl group is an alkyl derived from methane, containing one carbon atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms — CH3.

Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent, making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds.

Glycerol is a simple polyol (sugar alcohol) compound. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is widely used in pharmaceutical formulations. Glycerol has three hydroxyl groups that are responsible for its solubility in water and its hygroscopic nature.

Glycogen is a multibranched polysaccharide that serves as a form of energy storage in animals and fungi. In humans, glycogen is made and stored primarily in the cells of the liver and the muscles, and functions as the secondary long-term energy storage.

Adenosine diphosphate, abbreviated ADP, is an important organic compound in metabolism and is essential to the flow of energy in living cells. A molecule of ADP consists of three important structural components: a sugar backbone,  which is attached to a molecule of adenosine and two phosphate groups located around its ring structure.

A disulfide bond (Br.E. disulphide bond) is a covalent bond, usually derived by the coupling of two thiol groups. The linkage is also called an SS-bond or disulfide bridge. The overall connectivity is therefore R–S–S–R. The terminology is widely used in biochemistry.

An aldonic acid is any of a family of sugar acids obtained by oxidation of the aldehyde functional group of an aldose to form a carboxylic acid functional group.  Thus, their general chemical formula is HOOC-(CHOH)n-CH2OH. Oxidation of the terminal hydroxyl group instead of the terminal aldehyde yields a uronic acid, while oxidation of both terminal ends yields an aldaric acid.