Carbohydrates and Glycobiology

A series of flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to carbohydrates and glycobiology, useful for exam preparation.

Monosaccharides

The simplest form of carbohydrates, consisting of single sugar molecules.

Glycoconjugate

A biomolecule formed by the covalent attachment of glycans to proteins or lipids.

Glycosidic bond

The ether linkage between two monosaccharides that forms during the condensation reaction.

Reducing sugars

Sugars that can act as reducing agents due to the presence of a free aldehyde or ketone group.

Epimer

Sugars that differ from one another at only one specific carbon atom.

Haworth projections

A way of representing the cyclic forms of sugars that depict the orientation of the hydroxyl groups.

Polysaccharides

Carbohydrates composed of long chains of monosaccharide units, which may be branched or unbranched.

Homopolysaccharide

A polysaccharide that consists entirely of one type of monosaccharide.

Heteropolysaccharide

A polysaccharide made up of more than one type of monosaccharide.

Cyclization

The process through which monosaccharides convert from linear to cyclic forms.

Anomers

Isomers that differ at the anomeric carbon resulting from a cyclic form of a sugar.

Glycoprotein

A protein that has carbohydrate chains covalently attached to it.

Proteoglycan

A glycoprotein in which the protein is heavily glycosylated, often containing glycosaminoglycans.

Glycolipid

A lipid that contains a carbohydrate attached, usually found on the extracellular surface of cell membranes.

Blood groups

Classification of blood based on the presence of specific glycosyltransferases that determine the sugar composition.

Glycobiology

The study of the biological function of glycans and their role in physiology.

Synthesis of glycans

The process of creating glycan structures through the action of glycosyltransferases.

Starch

A homopolysaccharide consisting of glucose units, utilized as a storage form of energy in plants.

Cellulose

A linear polysaccharide composed of β(1-4) linked glucose units, forming structural support in plant cell walls.

Lactose

A disaccharide sugar composed of glucose and galactose, found in milk.

Tamiflu

An antiviral medication that inhibits neuraminidase, thus preventing the release of new viral particles.

Glucose

A simple sugar that is an important energy source in living organisms and a component of many carbohydrates.