Understanding the abundance of the rare sugar β-d-allose?

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics Pub Date: 2022-08-24 DOI: 10.1039/D2CP03213A

Abstract

The conformational landscape of β-D-allose, a rare sugar, was investigated using laser ablation in combination with high-resolution rotational spectroscopy. Altogether, three species are identified, exhibiting a counter-clockwise intramolecular hydrogen bond network. The effect of epimerization on the main aldohexose is also studied and, despite the main conformers being very similar, the position of the hydroxyl groups in allose allows the formation of considerably stronger intramolecular hydrogen bonds than in glucose, and this could explain the low abundance of β-D-allose in Nature.

Graphical abstract: Understanding the abundance of the rare sugar β-d-allose
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