Crystal-structure analysis, in carbohydrate chemistry

Jeffrey, G. A., and Rosenstein, R. D., Crystal-structure Analysis in Carbohydrate Chemistry, 19, 7-22... 

Jeffrey, G. A., and Rosenstein, R. D., Crystal-structure Analysis in Carbohydrate Chemistry, 19,7-22 Jones, David M., Structure and Some Reactions of Cellulose, 19,219-246 Jones, J. K. N., and Smith, F., Plant Gums and Mucilages, 4,243-291 Jones, J. K. N. See also. Hirst, E. L. 

An extensive review has appeared on the anomeric and exo-anomeric effects in carbohydrate chemistry. A further review of the anomeric effect asserts that n- a contributions to the former effect are small relative to those of n- n destabilising components. Further consideration has been given to the effect following analysis of 529 crystal structures of carbohydrates, in particular the C-O bond lengths and C-O-C and O-C-O bond angles as they depend on dihedral angles in the sequence C-O-C-O-C. The work is an extension of an earlier study (Vol. 18, p.2, ref. 4). ... 

In many areas of chemistry, chemical methods of structure proof have given way to spectroscopic methods (Chapter 14) and analysis by mass spectrometry. In the field of carbohydrate chemistry, however, chemical reactions play an important part in the elucidation of the structures of unknown carbohydrates. The reason for this is that many proteins and lipids contain carbohydrates that have very complex structures, and these do not yield easily to spectroscopic methods. Also, since it is notoriously difficult to crystallize many carbohydrates, proof of structure by X-ray crystallography is often not possible. In this section we will discuss methods for determining determine the structure of a monosaccharide by chemical methods. Several synthetic reactions can be used to convert one monosaccharide into another. If the structure of a related monosaccharide is known, and the mechanism of the reaction that interconverts them is well understood, then the structure of the unknown monosaccharide can be established. 

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