Monosaccharides Form Cyclic Hemiacetals

This is a modified form of the 1980 recommendations [4]. Priority is now given to naming cyclic forms, since in most cases branched-chain monosaccharides will form cyclic hemiacetals or hemiketals. 

Monosaccharides are sweet-tasting solids that are very soluble in water. Noncarbohydrate low-calorie sweeteners such as aspartame have been developed as sugar substitutes. Pentoses and hexoses form cyclic hemiacetals or hemiketals whose structures can be represented by Haworth structures. Two isomers referred to as anomers (the a and p forms) are produced in the cyclization reaction. All monosaccharides are oxidized by Benedict s reagent and are called reducing sugars. Monosaccharides can react with alcohols to produce acetals or ketals that are called glycosides. 

The aldehyde or keto group of a monosaccharide reacts with one of its OH groups to form cyclic hemiacetals glucose forms a-D-glucose and /3-D-glucose. More j8-D-glucose is present than a-o-glucose in an aqueous solution at equilibrium. 

Some monosaccharides also exist in a five-mem be red cyclic hemiacetal form called a furanose form. D-Fructose, for instance, exists in water solution as 70% /Tpvranose, 2% a-pyranose, 0.7% open-chain, 23% /3-furanose, and 5% a-furanose. The pyranose form results from addition of the -OH at C6 to the carbonyl group, while the furanose form results from addition of the —OH at C5 to the carbonyl group (Figure 25.5). 

If the branched monosaccharide forms a cyclic hemiacetal or hemiketal, the chain which includes the ring atoms rather than any alternative open chain must be the basis of the name. Otherwise the parent is chosen according to the principles given in 2-Carb-2.1. 

The aldehyde or ketone group of monosaccharides can undergo an intramolecular reaction with one of its own hydroxyl groups to form a cyclic, hemiacetal, or hemiketal structure, respectively (Figure 1.26). In aqueous solutions, this cyclic structure actually predominates. The open-chain aldehyde or ketone form of monosaccharides is in equilibrium with the cyclic form, but the open structure exists less than 0.5 percent of the time in aqueous environments. It is the... 

Monosaccharide structures may be depicted in open-chain forms showing their carbonyl character, or in cyclic hemiacetal or hemiketal forms. Alongside the Fischer projections of glucose, ribose, and fructose shown earlier, we included an alternative... 

The cyclic hemiacetal and hemiketal forms of monosaccharides are capable of reacting with an alcohol to form acetals and ketals (see Section 7.2). The acetal or ketal product is termed a glycoside, and the non-carbohydrate portion is referred to as an aglycone. In the nomenclature of glycosides we replace the suffix -ose in the sugar with -oside. Simple glycosides may be synthesized by treating an alcoholic solution of the monosaccharide with an acidic catalyst, but the reaction mixture usually then contains a mixture of products. This is an accepted problem with many carbohydrate reactions it is often difficult to carry out selective transformations because of their multifunctional nature. 

Monosaccharides commonly form internal hemiacetals or hemiketals, in which the aldehyde or ketone group joins with a hydroxyl group of the same molecule, creating a cyclic structure this can be represented as a Haworth perspective formula. The carbon atom originally found in the aldehyde or ketone group (the anomeric carbon) can assume either of two configurations, a and /3, which are interconvertible by mutarotation. In the linear form, which is in equilibrium with the cyclized forms, the anomeric carbon is easily oxidized. 

The halogen in the acylglycosyl halide is reactive and may be readily displaced, for example, by an alkoxy group on reaction with an alcohol under anhydrous conditions in the presence of a silver or mercury(n) salt. In this case the products are glycosides which are the mixed cyclic acetals related to the cyclic hemiacetal forms of the monosaccharides. In the case of the D-glucose derivative shown below (and of other 1,2-cis acylglycosyl halides) the replace-... 

When a monosaccharide forms a cyclic hemiacetal (or hemiketal), the carbonyl carbon becomes a stereocenter. Thus, cyclization leads to formation of two possible stereoisomers. These isomers are called anomers, and the former carbonyl carbon is called the anomeric carbon. The isomer with the anomeric OH (shown in blue) pointed down is the alpha anomer. The isomer with the anomeric OH (shown in blue) pointed up is the beta anomer. (Figure 12.14)... 

Because glucose and the other monosaccharides contain both a carbonyl group and hydroxy groups, they exist predominantly in the form of cyclic hemiacetals. 

Cyclization forms the more stable ring size in a given molecule. The most common monosaccharides, the aldohexoses like glucose, typically form a pyranose ring, so our discussion begins with forming a cyclic hemiacetal from D-glucose. 

Because monosaccharides contain OH groups, they undergo reactions typical of alcohols—that is, they are converted to ethers and esters. Because the cyclic hemiacetal form of a monosaccharide contains an OH group, this form of a monosaccharide must be drawn as the starting material for any reaction that occurs at an OH group. 

The third descriptor for monosaccharides only comes into play when sugars internally react to form rings. Monosaccharides react internally by nucleophilic attack of the carbonyl group by a OH group, to form a cyclical hemiacetal . 

The carbonyl and alcohol groups within the same monosaccharide may react together if the carbon chain is long enough. The result is a cyclic hemiacetal. A new chiral center is formed at the carbon which was previously the carbonyl. The two optical isomers that can result are called anomers. Five- and six-membered cyclic structures predominate with the alcohol oxygen as the last member of the ring. These are referred to as furanoses and pyranoses, respectively. Cyclic structures exist in equilibrium with the open-chain form. 

Monosaccharides, polyhydroxy aldehydes or ketones, are either aldoses or ketoses. Sugars that contain four or more carbons primarily have cyclic forms. Cyclic aldoses or ketoses are hemiacetals and hemiketals, respectively. 

Hemiacetals and hemiketals react with alcohols to form acetals and ketals, respectively. When the cyclic hemiacetal or hemiketal form of a monosaccharide reacts with an alcohol, the new linkage is called a glycosidic linkage, and the compound is called a glycoside. 

Hemiacetals and hemiketals are readily formed in carbohydrates. Monosaccharides contain several hydroxyl groups and one carbonyl group. The linear form of a monosaccharide quickly undergoes an intramolecular reaction in solution to give a cyclic hemiacetal or hemiketal. 

Two different procedures can be used to determine what size ring a monosaccharide forms. In the first procedure, treatment of the monosaccharide with excess methyl iodide and silver oxide converts all the OH groups to OCH3 groups (Section 22.12). Acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of the acetal then forms a hemiacetal, which is in equilibrium with its open-chain form. The size of the ring can be determined from the structure of the open-chain form because the sole OH group is the one that had formed the cyclic hemiacetal. 

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