Monosaccharide conformation

The Haworth representation implies a planar ring. However, monosaccharides assume conformations that are not planar these may be represented by Haworth conformational formulae. The nomenclature of conformations is described in 2-Carb-7. For example, (5-D-glucopyranose assumes a chair conformation ... 

The conformation, i.e. the (approximate) spatial arrangement of the ring atoms of a monosaccharide in the cyclic form, may be indicated by an italic capital letter designating the type of ring shape, and numerals, distinguishing the variants. The... 

This is an abridged version of the document Conformational Nomenclature for Five- and Six-membered Ring Forms of Monosaccharides and their Derivatives. Recommendations 1980 [3],... 

Note 1. Many of the possible conformations are not likely to contribute significantly to the chemistry of a particular monosaccharide, but must be stabilized by formation of additional rings, as in anhydrides or other derivatives. Some others may occur as transition-state intermediates. 

IUPAC-IUB Joint Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature (JCBN), Conformational nomenclature for five- and six-membered ring forms of monosaccharides and their derivatives (Recommendations 1980), Eur.J.Biochem. Ill, 295-298 (1980) Arch. Biochem. Biophys.,207,469-472(1981) PureAppl. Chem.,S3,1901-1905(1981) ref.2,pp. 158-161. 

The practice of including the conformation after the name of the parent monosaccharide should be used only with caution because not all conformations are known with certainty. In the case of furanose rings especially, conformations might differ between the crystalline and solution states. 

The pyranoid monosaccharides provide a wide range of asymmetric molecules for study by the c.d. spectroscopist. However, these compounds are not without their difficulties. In aqueous solution, these compounds exist in a complex equilibrium involving the two possible chair conformers of the pyranoses, the furanoses, a and p anomers, and the acyclic form, as well as septanoses for aldohexoses and higher sugars. 

Because so many different chromophores are involved in the c.d. spectrum of a monosaccharide, fundamental interpretation of the spectrum is difficult. On the other hand, similarities among the various difference-spectra having identical conformations in near neighboring groups suggest that a catalog... 

Consequences of the conformational anomeric effect are largely expressed in monosaccharides and their derivatives. One recognizes the conformational endo-anomeric effect for pyranosides with a polar X group at C(l) (contrasteric electronic stabilization effect Fig. 7A) and conformational exo-anomeric effect for glycosides (acetals) in which the alkyl group of the exocyclic moiety is synclinal (Fig. 7B, C). 

Aldonolactones are useful starting materials for the synthesis of modified sugars. They have also been used as chiral templates in synthesis of natural products. Some of them are inexpensive, commercially available products or they may be obtained readily from the respective monosaccharides. The purpose of this chapter is to survey the main reactions of aldonolactones. Previous reviews on the subject include articles on gulono-1,4-lactones (1) and D-ribonolactone (2). Methods of synthesis, conformational analysis, and biological properties are not discussed in this chapter. 

Monosaccharides have many structural variations that correspond to local minima that must be considered. Acyclic carbohydrates can rotate at each carbon, and each of the three staggered conformers is likely to correspond to a local minimum. The shapes of sugar rings also often vary. Furanose rings usually have two major local minima and a path of interconversion. Experimental evidence shows a clear preference for only one chair form for some pyranose rings, but others could exist in several conformers. For exanqple, the and conformers must all be considered as possible structures for L-iduronate, as discussed by Ragazzi et al. in this book. 

Vicinal proton-carbon coupling constants in a series of conformationally rigid monosaccharide derivatives showed a satisfactory dependence of upon the torsion angles (2). The... 

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