Carbohydrate chemistry

Carbohydrate chemistry is a subdiscipline of chemistry primarily concerned with the detection, synthesis, structure, and function of carbohydrates. Due to the general structure of carbohydrates, their synthesis is often preoccupied with the selective formation of glycosidic linkages and the selective reaction of hydroxyl groups; as a result, it relies heavily on the use of protecting groups. monosaccharides Individual saccharide residues are termed monosaccharides. Carbohydrate synthesis Carbohydrate synthesis is a sub-field of organic chemistry concerned specifically with the generation of natural and unnatural carbohydrate structures. This can include the synthesis of monosaccharide residues or structures containing more than one monosaccharide, known as oligosaccharides. Chemical glycosylation Fischer glycosidation Glycosyl halide Koenigs-Knorr reaction Carbohydrate acetalisation Trimethylsilyl Benzyl Ether para-methoxybenzyl ether Oligosaccharide Carbohydrates are reactants in many organic reactions. For example: Cyanohydrin reaction Lobry-de Bruyn-van Ekenstein transformation Amadori rearrangement Nef reaction Wohl degradation Tipson-Cohen reaction Ferrier rearrangement Ferrier II reaction Carbohydrates have four major functions within the body: Energy supply, particularly for the brain in the form of glucose Avoiding the breakdown of amino acids for energy Avoiding ketosis from the breakdown of fatty acids Cellular and protein recognition Carbohydrate catabolism and Glucose Amino acid catabolism Ketosis GlycoproteinMajor histocompatibility complexABO blood group system and Antibody Glycoprotein hormones may be removed by the liver from the bloodstream when the passage of time causes the breaking-off of carbohydrates from the glycoproteins.