Fischer Projections: Carbohydrates

Fischer projections are very useful for depicting carbohydrate chemistry.  As noted earlier a Fischer projection is a very high energy conformation.

Action

Below is a 3D model of D-Glucose that was forced into a Fischer projection.

  • Take note of the proximity of the aldehyde (CHO) group and the terminal alcohol (CH2OH).
  • Are the H and OH on adjacent chiral centers eclipsed?
  • Click the "Space fill" button to see what the Van der Waals surface looks like.

 
Action

The following app shows the relation between Fisher projections and Zigzag structures.

  • Decrease and increase the number of stereocenters and watch the side view and Zig-zag structures.
  • Change the number of stereocenters to 4.
  • What do you notice about stereocenetrs 2 and 4 when comparing their side view and Zig-zag structures?

Controls







Fischer Projection


Side View

Zig-zag Structure