Aminoglycans

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A class of antibiotics derived from amino sugars, effective against a variety of bacterial infections
2. Polysaccharides made up of amino sugars that are important in cellular processes
3. Biologically active molecules involved in cell signaling and structure, influencing various physiological functions

Etymology: "Aminoglycans" is simply the plural of "aminoglycan", so the word is a compound built from two parts: "amino-", the combining form for the amino group (a nitrogen-containing chemical grouping, from "ammonia"), and "glycan", a term for a sugar-based polymer. The "-glycan" element comes from the Greek "glykys", meaning sweet, the same root that gives "glucose". Joined together, the name points to a class of molecules that carry both amino groups and sugar units. The plural form simply names the whole family of such compounds, which includes the antibiotics used against bacterial infections such as streptomycin and gentamicin. Because these drugs are built from amino sugars linked into rings, chemists needed a name that signalled both features at once, and the compound formation does that work transparently. The word is a modern technical coinage, built from existing scientific elements rather than inherited from an older vocabulary.

Synonyms: aminoglycosides