# Disaccharides --- A **disaccharide** is [[carbohydrates|carbohydrate]] formed when two monosaccharides [[polymer|polymerize]] together with a [[covalent bond|glycosidic bond]]. One of the fundamental things to understand is that *none of these sugars are of any use to anyone if you can't break the glycosidic bond between them*. There's a different enzyme for each of those to break out the glucose. If you have that enzyme, you can break the glycosidic bond and get the glucose out. If you don't have the gene to make the enzyme to do it, you will never be able to break it down. There are *so many* disaccharides possible, that are all basically the same except for where the glycosidic bonds are located. Generally speaking however, there are only three main ones: maltose, sucrose, and lactose. ![[main disaccharides.png]] ## Alpha & Beta Bonds There are **two bonds** that form between two monosaccharides in nature: the **alpha bond** and the **beta bond**. Now you know. ![[disaccharide bonds.png]] ___