Carbohydrate structure and transport Flashcards
what is a carbohydrate
it is an energy producing nutrient
what is the structure of a basic monosaccharide
(CH2O)n
for every single carbon, there will be 2 hydrogens present
this structure only applies to unmodified monosaccharides, so this doesn’t count for deoxyribose
what functional group do glyceraldehydes have
aldehydes
what functional group do dihydroxyacetones have
ketones
how do you figure out which carbon in your carbohydrate is the alpha or number 1
the most oxidized carbon (the one beside your your carbonyl group)
what is the main difference for numbering the carbons for aldoses and ketones?
for aldoses the carbonyl is C1 and for ketones carbonyl is C2
why are sugar structures so diverse
because of chirality and isomers
isomers
same formula, different structure
constitutional isomers
same formula but different order of functional group bonding
stereoisomers
same formula and structure but are enantiomers or diastereomers (non mirror image)
epimers
different at one asymmetric carbon
why are different molecular positions important
it impacts protein interaction
what does reducing a sugar mean?
being able to revert a sugar back to its linear form through a redox reaction
in order for this to happen there needs to be a free (-OH) on the anomeric carbon that can be converted back to a C=O (the carbonyl is oxidized to a carboxyl)
Glycosidic bonds
these are bonds that link sugars through a condensation reaction
what is required to cleave glycosidic bonds
hydrolysis reaction, requiring a water
what two monosaccharide sugars combine to form disaccharide sucrose
glucose and fructose
why is glycogen important in our bodies
because it stores glucose in long chains and without this the osmotic pressure in our bodies will build
at what end are glucose units added and removed?
from the non-reducing end that can’t open back up
where is glycogen found
in the liver and muscle
which enzymes help cleave/breakdown disaccharides
lactase, maltase, and sucrase
how do specific proteins recognize specific sugars
through amino acid side chains in active sites of enzymes
what is an alpha type bond
when the OH is below the plane
what is a beta type bond
when the OH is above the plane
