organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...

, a glycosyl group is a univalent free

radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

substituent In organic chemistry, a substituent is one or a group of atoms that replaces (one or more) atoms, thereby becoming a moiety in the resultant (new) molecule. The suffix ''-yl'' is used when naming organic compounds that contain a single bond r ...

structure obtained by removing the

hydroxyl In chemistry, a hydroxy or hydroxyl group is a functional group with the chemical formula and composed of one oxygen atom covalently bonded to one hydrogen atom. In organic chemistry, alcohols and carboxylic acids contain one or more hydroxy ...

() group from the

hemiacetal In organic chemistry, a hemiacetal is a functional group the general formula , where is a hydrogen atom or an organic substituent. They generally result from the nucleophilic Addition reaction, addition of an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol (a compo ...

() group found in the

cyclic Cycle, cycles, or cyclic may refer to: Anthropology and social sciences * Cyclic history, a theory of history * Cyclical theory, a theory of American political history associated with Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. * Social cycle, various cycles in s ...

form of a

monosaccharide Monosaccharides (from Greek '' monos'': single, '' sacchar'': sugar), also called simple sugars, are the simplest forms of sugar and the most basic units (monomers) from which all carbohydrates are built. Chemically, monosaccharides are polyhy ...

and, by extension, of a lower

oligosaccharide An oligosaccharide (; ) is a carbohydrate, saccharide polymer containing a small number (typically three to ten) of monosaccharides (simple sugars). Oligosaccharides can have many functions including Cell–cell recognition, cell recognition and ce ...

. Glycosyl groups are exchanged during

glycosylation Glycosylation is the reaction in which a carbohydrate (or ' glycan'), i.e. a glycosyl donor, is attached to a hydroxyl or other functional group of another molecule (a glycosyl acceptor) in order to form a glycoconjugate. In biology (but not ...

from the

glycosyl donor A glycosyl donor is a carbohydrate mono- or oligosaccharide that will react with a suitable glycosyl acceptor to form a new glycosidic bond. By convention, the donor is the member of this pair that contains the resulting anomeric carbon of the new g ...

, the

electrophile In chemistry, an electrophile is a chemical species that forms bonds with nucleophiles by accepting an electron pair. Because electrophiles accept electrons, they are Lewis acids. Most electrophiles are positively Electric charge, charged, have an ...

, to the

glycosyl acceptor A glycosyl acceptor is any suitable nucleophile-containing molecule that will react with a glycosyl donor to form a new glycosidic bond. By convention, the acceptor is the member of this pair which did not contain the resulting anomeric carbon of th ...

, the

nucleophile In chemistry, a nucleophile is a chemical species that forms bonds by donating an electron pair. All molecules and ions with a free pair of electrons or at least one pi bond can act as nucleophiles. Because nucleophiles donate electrons, they are ...

. The outcome of the glycosylation reaction is largely dependent on the reactivity of each partner. Glycosyl also reacts with

inorganic acid A mineral acid (or inorganic acid) is an acid derived from one or more inorganic compounds, as opposed to organic acids which are acidic, organic compounds. All mineral acids form hydrogen ions and the conjugate base when dissolved in water. Ch ...

s, such as

phosphoric acid Phosphoric acid (orthophosphoric acid, monophosphoric acid or phosphoric(V) acid) is a colorless, odorless phosphorus-containing solid, and inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is commonly encountered as an 85% aqueous solution, ...

, forming an

ester In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an acid (either organic or inorganic) in which the hydrogen atom (H) of at least one acidic hydroxyl group () of that acid is replaced by an organyl group (R). These compounds contain a distin ...

such as

glucose 1-phosphate Glucose 1-phosphate (also called Cori ester) is a glucose molecule with a phosphate group on the 1'-carbon. It can exist in either the α- or β- anomeric form. Reactions of α-glucose 1-phosphate Catabolic In glycogenolysis, it is the direct p ...

Examples

cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of glycosidic bond, β(1→4) linked glucose, D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important s ...

, glycosyl groups link together 1,4-β-D-glucosyl units to form chains of (1,4-β-D-glucosyl)_n. Other examples include ribityl in

6,7-Dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine 6,7-Dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine is a precursor for riboflavin. It is acted upon by riboflavin synthase. Pteridines Imides {{biochem-stub ...

, and

glycosylamine Glycosylamines are a class of biochemical compounds consisting of a glycosyl group attached to an amino group, -NR2. They are also known as N-glycosides,. as they are a type of glycoside. Glycosyl groups can be derived from carbohydrates. The gl ...

Alternative substituent groups

Instead of the hemiacetal hydroxyl group, a ''hydrogen'' atom can be removed to form a substituent, for example the hydrogen from the C3 hydroxyl of a

glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula , which is often abbreviated as Glc. It is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. It is mainly made by plants and most algae d ...

molecule. Then the substituent is called D-glucopyranos-3-''O''-yl as it appears in the name of the drug

Mifamurtide Mifamurtide (trade name Mepact, marketed by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, Takeda) is a drug against osteosarcoma, a kind of bone cancer mainly affecting children and young adults, which is lethal in over half of cases. The drug was approved in E ...

. Recent detection of Au³⁺ in vivo used ''C''-glycosyl pyrene. Its fluorescence and permeability through cell membranes helped detect Au³⁺.

References

{{Reflist Substituents Biomolecules Monosaccharides Oligosaccharides

Examples

Alternative substituent groups

See also

References