Editing Glycogen (section)

== Structure Type ==
In 1999, Meléndez et al claimed that the structure of glycogen is optimal under a particular metabolic constraint model, where the structure was suggested to be "fractal" in nature.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Fractal Structure of Glycogen: A Clever Solution to Optimize Cell Metabolism |author1=Ruth Melendez|author2=Enrique Melendez-Hevia |author3=Enric I. Canela |date= September 1999 |journal=Biophysical Journal |volume=77 |issue=3 |at=1327|doi=10.1016/S0006-3495(99)76982-1|pmid=10465745 |pmc=1300422 |bibcode=1999BpJ....77.1327M |hdl=2445/122234 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> However, research by Besford et al<ref>{{cite journal |title=Liver glycogen in type 2 diabetic mice is randomly branched as enlarged aggregates with blunted glucose release |author1=Quinn A. Besford |author2=Xiao-Yi Zeng |author3=Ji-Ming Ye |author4=Angus Gray-Weale |date=31 October 2015 |orig-year=31 October 2015 |journal=Glycoconjugate Journal |volume=33|issue=1 |at=41-51 |doi=10.1007/s10719-015-9631-5 |pmid=26521055 |hdl=11343/282927 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> used small angle X-ray scattering experiments accompanied by branching theory models to show that glycogen is a randomly hyperbranched polymer nanoparticle. Glycogen is not fractal in nature. This has been subsequently verified by others who have performed [[Monte Carlo simulation]]s of glycogen particle growth, and shown that the molecular density reaches a maximum near the centre of the nanoparticle structure, not at the periphery (contradicting a fractal structure that would have greater density at the periphery).<ref>{{cite journal |title=Exploring glycogen biosynthesis through Monte Carlo simulation |author1=Peng Zhang |author2=Sharif S. Nada |author3=Xinle Tan |author4=Bin Deng |author5=Mitchell A. Sullivan |author6=Robert G. Gilbert |date=8 May 2018 |orig-year=8 May 2018 |journal=International Journal of Biological Macromolecules |volume=116|at=264-271 |doi=10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2018.05.027|doi-access=free |pmid=29751035 }}</ref>