Natural Polymers by Lon J. Mathias Years ago, before there were plastics and synthetic polymers, in fact, all the way back to the beginning of the earth, nature was using natural polymers to make life possible. We don't think of natural polymers in the same way as synthetic polymers because we can't take credit for them as marvels of our own ingenuity, and chemical companies can't sell them for profit. Natural polymers include the RNA and DNA that are so important in genes and life processes. In fact, messenger RNA is what makes possible proteins, peptides, and enzymes. Enzymes help do the chemistry inside living organisms and peptides make up some of the more interesting structural components of skin, hair, and even the horns of rhinos.
Natural rubber is, naturally a natural polymer also, made from just carbon and hydrogen.
Let's look at each of the main families of natural polymers closely. Polysaccharides DNA and RNA RNA and DNA contains polymer backbones which are based on sugar units. This makes them polysaccharides, although in the case of RNA and DNA, there are well ordered groups attached to the sugar units that give these polymers their unique capabilities. Wood and Potatoes Another family of polysaccharides includes starch and cellulose. Starch is a high molecular weight polysaccharide.