Topic summary
Multimer
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Oligomer.
The units of an oligomer may be connected by covalent bonds, which may result from bond rearrangement or condensation reactions, or by weaker forces such as hydrogen bonds. The term multimer () is used in biochemistry for oligomers of proteins that are not covalently bound. The major capsid protein VP1 that comprises the shell of polyomaviruses is a self-assembling multimer of 72 pentamers held together by local electric charges.