Sugar, reactions isomerization

Reactions with bases in basic medium, reducing sugars undergo isomerization reactions through enedioi intermediates (Lobry De Bruyn-Van Ekenstein reaction) so glucose is partially converted to fructose and mannose a number of by-products is also produced. 

ISOMERIZATION REACTIONS Isomerization reactions involve the intramolecular shift of atoms or groups. One of the most common biochemical isomerizations is the interconversion between aldose and ketose sugars (Figure 1.19). 

The primary steps in the conversion of starch are Uquefaction, saccharification, and isomerization. By controlling the enzymatic reactions, sugars of different sweetness can be produced to suit the various needs of manufacturers of food and nonalcohoUc beverages. 

The reversible reactions are initiated by an equilibrium between neutral and ionized forms of the monosaccharides (see Fig. 6). The oxyanion at the anomeric carbon weakens the ring C-O bond and allows mutarotation and isomerization via an acyclic enediol intermediate. This reaction is responsible for the sometimes reported occurrence of D-mannose in alkaline mixtures of sucrose and invert sugar, the three reducing sugars are in equilibrium via the enediol intermediate. The mechanism of isomerization, known as the Lobry de Bruyn-... 

However, the pattern is complicated by several factors. The sugar molecules to be hydrogenated mutarotate in aqueous solutions thus coexisting as acyclic aldehydes and ketoses and as cyclic pyranoses and furanoses and reaction kinetics are complicated and involve side reactions, such as isomerization, hydrolysis, and oxidative dehydrogenation reactions. Moreover, catalysts deactivate and external and internal mass transfer limitations interfere with the kinetics, particularly under industrial circumstances. 

Reaction of nitromethane and monosaccharide-derived dialdehydes is a useful tool that has been broadly used for the preparation of nitro and amino sugars, and carbocycles.30 Dialdehydes can easily be obtained by oxidative cleavage of conveniently protected monosaccharides with sodium periodate. Their subsequent Henry reaction with a nitroalkene, commonly nitromethane, usually gives isomeric mixtures that require the isolation of the major isomer.31 Thus, treatment of the D-ribose derivative 27 with sodium periodate gave dialdehyde 28, which was subjected to a Henry reaction with nitromethane, to afford nitrosugar 29 as an epimeric mixture (Scheme 11).32... 

The reactivity of carbohydrates is dominated by the reactivity of the aldehyde group and the hydroxyl on its next-neighbor (/ ) carbon. As illustrated by the middle row of Fig. 2.3, the aldehyde can be isomerized to the corresponding enol or be converted into its hydrate (or hemiketal) form upon reaction with water (or with an hydroxyl-group). These two reactions are responsible for the easy cycliza-tion of sugars in five- and six-membered rings (furanose and pyranose) and their isomerization between various enantiomeric forms and between aldehyde- and ketone-type sugars (aldose and ketose). 

In the presence of bases, monomeric as well as polymeric sugars are converted into various carboxylates salts [14]. The reaction proceeds through a retro-Michael dehydration step to form an unsaturated aldehyde, followed by rehydration of the aldehyde function and isomerization to acid (Fig. 2.3). The same reaction is also responsible for a stepwise depolymerization of polymeric sugar to carboxylate... 

Note that harsher conditions may lead to further changes, e.g. epimerization at C-3 in fmctose, plus isomerization, or even reverse aldol reactions (see Section 10.3). In general, basic conditions must be employed with care if isomerizations are to be avoided. To preserve stereochemistry, it is usual to ensure that free carbonyl groups are converted to acetals or ketals (glycosides, see Section 12.4) before basic reagents are used. Isomerization of sugars via enediol intermediates features prominently in the glycolytic pathway of intermediary metabolism (see Box 10.1). 

However, the applicability of this strategy is limited by the substrate specificity of the isomerases so that only a fraction of the ketoses that can be obtained from the aldose-catalyzed reaction can be enzymatically isomerized to the corresponding aldose. Moreover, the isomerization reaction is reversible and, as a ketone is generally more stable than an isomeric aldehyde, the equilibrium produces substantial aldose isomer only if the aldose sugar can exist in a very stable aldopyra-nose form [38b]. 

If the benzylidene acetal ring spans the oxygen atoms of two erstwhile secondary hydroxyl groups, the reaction with N-bromosuc-cinimide usually affords isomeric, bromodeoxy sugar benzoates. Thus, for example, the reaction with methyl 2,3-0-benzylidene-5-0-methyl-/3-D-ribofuranoside (106) afforded145 an approximately 1 1 mixture of the bromides 109 and 108, presumably by way of attack on C-2 and C-3 of the benzoxonium intermediate 107 by bromide ion. 

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