Carbohydrate chemistry is a subdiscipline of
chemistry primarily concerned with the detection, synthesis, structure, and function of
carbohydrate
In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or m ...
s.
Due to the general structure of carbohydrates, their synthesis is often preoccupied with the selective formation of glycosidic linkages and the selective reaction of hydroxyl groups; as a result, it relies heavily on the use of
protecting groups.
Monosaccharides
Individual saccharide residues are termed monosaccharides.
Carbohydrate synthesis
Carbohydrate synthesis is a sub-field of
organic chemistry
Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, ...
concerned specifically with the generation of natural and unnatural
carbohydrate
In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or m ...
structures. This can include the synthesis of
monosaccharide residues or structures containing more than one monosaccharide, known as
oligosaccharides.
Glycosidic bond formation
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Chemical glycosylation
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Fischer glycosidation
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Glycosyl halide
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Koenigs-Knorr reaction
Protecting groups
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Carbohydrate acetalisation
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Trimethylsilyl
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Benzyl
In organic chemistry, benzyl is the substituent or molecular fragment possessing the structure . Benzyl features a benzene ring () attached to a methylene group () group.
Nomenclature
In IUPAC nomenclature, the prefix benzyl refers to a substi ...
Ether
* para-methoxybenzyl ether
Oligosaccharides
Reactions of carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are reactants in many
organic reactions. For example:
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Cyanohydrin reaction
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Lobry-de Bruyn-van Ekenstein transformation
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Amadori rearrangement
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Nef reaction
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Wohl degradation
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Tipson-Cohen reaction
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Ferrier rearrangement
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Ferrier II reaction
Functions of carbohydrates
Carbohydrates have four major functions within the body:
# Energy supply, particularly for the brain in the form of
glucose
Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula . Glucose is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. Glucose is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, u ...
# Avoiding the
breakdown of amino acids for energy
# Avoiding
ketosis from the breakdown of fatty acids
# Cellular and protein recognition
Energy supply, particularly for the brain in the form of glucose
Avoiding the breakdown of amino acids for energy
Avoiding ketosis from the breakdown of fatty acids
Cellular and protein recognition
Glycoprotein
hormone
A hormone (from the Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs by complex biological processes to regulate physiology and behavior. Hormones are require ...
s may be removed by the liver from the bloodstream when the passage of time causes the breaking-off of carbohydrates from the glycoproteins.
See also
Carbohydrate structure
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Anomeric effect
In organic chemistry, the anomeric effect or Edward-Lemieux effect is a stereoelectronic effect that describes the tendency of heteroatomic substituents adjacent to a heteroatom within a cyclohexane ring to prefer the ''axial'' orientation instea ...
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Carbohydrate
In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or m ...
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Carbohydrate conformation
Carbohydrate conformation refers to the overall three-dimensional structure adopted by a carbohydrate (saccharide) molecule as a result of the through-bond and through-space physical forces it experiences arising from its molecular structure. The ...
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Disaccharide
A disaccharide (also called a double sugar or ''biose'') is the sugar formed when two monosaccharides are joined by glycosidic linkage. Like monosaccharides, disaccharides are simple sugars soluble in water. Three common examples are sucrose, la ...
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Glycosidic bond
A glycosidic bond or glycosidic linkage is a type of covalent bond that joins a carbohydrate (sugar) molecule to another group, which may or may not be another carbohydrate.
A glycosidic bond is formed between the hemiacetal or hemiketal group ...
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Monosaccharide
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Polysaccharide
Carbohydrate function and biology
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Glycobiology
Defined in the narrowest sense, glycobiology is the study of the structure, biosynthesis, and biology of saccharides ( sugar chains or glycans) that are widely distributed in nature. Sugars or saccharides are essential components of all living thin ...
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Glycomics Glycomics is the comprehensive study of glycomes (the entire complement of sugars, whether free or present in more complex molecules of an organism), including genetic, physiologic, pathologic, and other aspects. Glycomics "is the systematic study ...
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Glycosylation
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Organic synthesis
References
External links
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Functions of Carbohydrates
{{Branches of chemistry
Carbohydrates
Chemical synthesis