Biochemistry 2280A Study Guide - Furanose, Pyranose, Maltose
5 May 2014
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Document Summary
Carbohydrates, or sugars, are one of the four main classes of compounds in living cells (fig 2-15, p. 52). Monosaccharides are the simplest sugars and have the molecular formula (ch2o)n, where n = 3 to 7. A monosaccharide with three carbon atoms is called a triose; with four, a tetrose; with five, a pentose; with six, a hexose; with seven, a heptose. Monosaccharides are often represented using fischer projections, which depict the stereochemistry at each carbon atom (p. 68, top panel, and structures below). At each carbon atom, the horizontal bonds are meant to come out of the page, toward the viewer, while the vertical bonds go into the page, away from the viewer. Each monosaccharide has a carbonyl group (an oxygen atom double-bonded to carbon). If this group is at the end of the molecule (i. e. , if it is an aldehyde group), the sugar is called an aldose.
