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Aldoses
An aldose is a monosaccharide (a simple sugar) with a carbon backbone chain with a carbonyl group on the endmost carbon atom, making it an aldehyde, and hydroxyl groups connected to all the other carbon atoms. Aldoses can be distinguished from ketoses, which have the carbonyl group away from the end of the molecule, and are therefore ketones. Structure Like most carbohydrates, simple aldoses have the general chemical formula C''n''(H2O)''n''. Because formaldehyde (n=1) and glycolaldehyde (n=2) are not generally considered to be carbohydrates, the simplest possible aldose is the triose glyceraldehyde, which only contains three carbon atoms. Because they have at least one asymmetric carbon center, all aldoses exhibit stereoisomerism. Aldoses can exist in either a - form or - form. The determination is made based on the chirality of the asymmetric carbon furthest from the aldehyde end, namely the second-last carbon in the chain. Aldoses with alcohol groups on the right of the Fisc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ketose
A ketose is a monosaccharide containing one ketone group per molecule. The simplest ketose is dihydroxyacetone, which has only three carbon atoms. It is the only ketose with no optical activity. All monosaccharide ketoses are reducing sugars, because they can tautomerize into aldoses via an enediol intermediate, and the resulting aldehyde group can be oxidised, for example in the Tollens' test or Benedict's test. Ketoses that are bound into glycosides, for example in the case of the fructose moiety of sucrose, are nonreducing sugars. Examples of ketoses All ketoses listed here are 2-ketoses, in other words, the carbonyl group is on the second carbon atom from the end: * Trioses: dihydroxyacetone * Tetroses: erythrulose * Pentoses: ribulose, xylulose * Hexoses: fructose, psicose, sorbose, tagatose * Heptoses: sedoheptulose * Octoses: D-''manno''-octulose (the basis for KDO) * Nonoses: D-''glycero''-D-''galacto''-nonulose (the basis for neuraminic acid) Chemistry Ketoses an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
