What is "polyphosphate"

n. (context chemistry English) any of a class of inorganic polymers containing linked phosphate groups; the low molecular weight polymers, such as sodium tripolyphosphate, are used in water softening and as food additives

n. a salt or ester of polyphosphoric acid

Polyphosphates are salts or esters of polymeric oxyanions formed from tetrahedral PO ( phosphate) structural units linked together by sharing oxygen atoms. Polyphosphates can adopt linear or a cyclic ring structures. In biology, the polyphosphate esters ADP and ATP are involved in energy storage. A variety of polyphosphates find application in mineral sequestration in municipal waters, generally being present at 1 to 5 ppm. GTP, CTP, and UTP are also nucleotides important in the protein synthesis, lipid synthesis, and carbohydrate metabolism, respectively.