AnomerIn carbohydrate chemistry, a pair of anomers () is a pair of near-identical stereoisomers or diastereomers that differ at only the anomeric carbon, the carbon that bears the aldehyde or ketone functional group in the sugar's open-chain form. However, in order for anomers to exist, the sugar must be in its cyclic form, since in open-chain form, the anomeric carbon is planar and thus achiral. More formally stated, then, an anomer is an epimer at the hemiacetal/hemiketal carbon in a cyclic saccharide.
MaltoseMaltose (ˈmɔːltoʊs or ˈmɔːltoʊz), also known as maltobiose or malt sugar, is a disaccharide formed from two units of glucose joined with an α(1→4) bond. In the isomer isomaltose, the two glucose molecules are joined with an α(1→6) bond. Maltose is the two-unit member of the amylose homologous series, the key structural motif of starch. When beta-amylase breaks down starch, it removes two glucose units at a time, producing maltose. An example of this reaction is found in germinating seeds, which is why it was named after malt.
Optical rotationOptical rotation, also known as polarization rotation or circular birefringence, is the rotation of the orientation of the plane of polarization about the optical axis of linearly polarized light as it travels through certain materials. Circular birefringence and circular dichroism are the manifestations of optical activity. Optical activity occurs only in chiral materials, those lacking microscopic mirror symmetry. Unlike other sources of birefringence which alter a beam's state of polarization, optical activity can be observed in fluids.
Chirality (chemistry)In chemistry, a molecule or ion is called chiral (ˈkaɪrəl) if it cannot be superposed on its by any combination of rotations, translations, and some conformational changes. This geometric property is called chirality (kaɪˈrælɪti). The terms are derived from Ancient Greek χείρ (cheir) 'hand'; which is the canonical example of an object with this property. A chiral molecule or ion exists in two stereoisomers that are mirror images of each other, called enantiomers; they are often distinguished as either "right-handed" or "left-handed" by their absolute configuration or some other criterion.
