Monosaccharides are carbohydrates that cannot be hydrolized to obtain smaller molecules of carbohydrate.
GLUCOSE
Glucose is a well-known monosaccharide.
The condensed formula of Glucose is:
C6H12O6
This means that the molecule of Glucose is built by 6 atoms of Carbon, 12 atoms of Hydrogen and 6 atoms of Oxygen.
This is better understood in the diagram of the open-chain linear structure of glucose:
H OH H H H
| | | | |
H - C - C - C - C - C - C - H
| | | | | | |
O OH H OH OH OH
A diagram of the ring shape of Glucose is:
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FRUCTOSE
Fructose is known popularly as fruit's sugar. The ring structure of Fructose is as follows:
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RIBOSE AND DEOXYRIBOSE
Two very important Monosaccharides are Ribose and Deoxyribose. Ribose is used for the construction of Ribonucleic Acid (RNA), and Deoxyribose to build Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA). The ring structure diagram for each molecule is as follows:
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GALACTOSE
Galactose is very similar to Glucose, except by the orientation of the radical -OH in the fourth Carbone.
Galactose and Glucose joins to form Lactose, a Disaccharide contained in milk.
To quote this article copy the next two lines:
Nahle, N. 2003. Monosaccharides. Biology Cabinet. http://www.biocab.org/Monosaccharides.html.
