Editing Dimerization (section)

==Polymer chemistry==
In the context of [[polymer]]s, "dimer" also refers to the [[degree of polymerization]] 2, regardless of the stoichiometry or [[condensation reaction]]s.

One case where this is applicable is with [[disaccharide]]s. For example, [[cellobiose]] is a dimer of [[glucose]], even though the formation reaction produces [[water]]:
: <chem>2 C6H12O6 -> C12H22O11 + H2O</chem>
Here, the resulting dimer has a stoichiometry different from the initial pair of monomers.

Disaccharides need not be composed of the same [[monosaccharide]]s to be considered dimers. An example is [[sucrose]], a dimer of [[fructose]] and glucose, which follows the same reaction equation as presented above.

Amino acids can also form dimers, which are called [[dipeptide]]s. An example is [[glycylglycine]], consisting of two [[glycine]] molecules joined by a [[peptide bond]].  Other examples include [[aspartame]] and [[carnosine]].