KIVO Med
Carbohydrates: structure and properties
From monosaccharides to heterosides, understand carbohydrate structures, isomerism, chemical properties, and major biological families.
- 68 explained questions
- 27 flashcards
- 128 estimated course minutes
Updated
What you will learn
- Define carbohydrates and distinguish monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, and heterosides.
- Read linear and cyclic projections and relate D/L series, epimers, and anomers.
- Explain the physical properties and reactions of carbonyl and alcohol groups.
- Compare glycosidic bonds, reducing behavior, and the main disaccharides.
- Relate starch, glycogen, cellulose, GAGs, and heterosides to their biological roles.
Course outline
A crossroads of roles and families
Carbohydrates have structural, functional, metabolic, and energetic roles and are grouped into monosaccharides and osides.
8 min
Defining, classifying, and reading a linear monosaccharide
Formula, classification, Fischer projection, D/L series, and epimerism provide the vocabulary for linear monosaccharide structure.
18 min
Cyclization, anomerization, and conformational change
In solution, cyclization converts the carbonyl into a hemiacetal, creates the anomeric carbon, and explains mutarotation and conformations.
17 min
Physical properties and chemical stability
Monosaccharides are optically active, highly soluble, and sensitive to acidic or alkaline conditions depending on temperature.
14 min
Reactions through carbonyl, alcohol, and amine groups
Reduction, oxidation, esterification, osazone formation, glycosylation, and glycation connect sugar chemistry to biological uses.
20 min
Monosaccharides of biological interest
Several trioses, pentoses, and hexoses concentrate the structural and functional examples used in human biology.
13 min
Glycosidic bonds and disaccharides
Glycosidic bonds assemble sugars and determine whether a disaccharide is reducing or non-reducing.
18 min
Polysides, glycosaminoglycans, and heterosides
Carbohydrate polymers organize storage and structure, while heterosides add an aglycone for recognition and protection functions.
20 min
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