Molecules of Life: Carbohydrates and Monosaccharides

Optical isomers, or enantiomers, are molecules that are non-superimposable mirror images of each other. In the context of monosaccharides, they refer to D- and L-isomers, where the naturally occurring D-isomer sugars can be metabolized via glycolysis only. Most naturally occurring sugars are D-isomers.

Epimers are stereoisomers with different configurations at one asymmetric carbon. In the context of monosaccharides, isomers of glucose differ in the spatial arrangements of the C=O and OH group.

Anomers are stereoisomers that differ in the configuration of the anomeric carbon. In the context of monosaccharides, an alpha or beta configuration is 'locked' when the glycosidic bond is formed between two monosaccharides, producing anomer sugars such as α and β-glucose.

<p>Polysaccharides act as energy stores in living organisms, with examples such as starch (amylose, amylopectin) in plants and glycogen in animals. They serve as a long-term energy storage form due to their complex structure.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Glycosylation is the process by which sugars are modified with a protein or lipid. This process produces complex oligosaccharides, which enable recognition molecules to be formed. These recognition molecules play a key role in various biological processes.</p> Signup and view all the answers