Sucrose - dynamic image - drag holding left mouse button
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Sucrose - found in cane sugar and beet sugar - is a disaccharide - formula C12H22O11 - consisting of one glucose unit combined with one fructose unit. The two sugars are linked (via an alpha 1,2 glycosidic bond) - effectively an oxygen bridge - formed as a result of a condensation reaction. The -OH groups originally on C1 of glucose and C2 of fructose which give reducing properties to the original molecules have been used up forming this bond, so sucrose is an example of a non-reducing sugar. In the sucrose molecule there are 12 carbon atoms, and 2 ring-shaped structures, each containing an oxygen atom. The glucose ring - initially on the left side - is a 6-sided structure (5 carbons and an oxygen), whereas the fructose ring - on the right side - is a 5-sided structure (4 carbons and an oxygen) |