Physical chemistry of small carbohydrates— equilibrium solution properties

Experimental techniques are now available which can probe the intricacies of carbohydrate structures, equilibria and dynamics. The development of theoretical tools has not kept pace with this progress; the reliance on hard sphere models and orientational averaging is unlikely to reveal the true nature of the phenomena involved. Computer simulation of PHCs in solution may, in the hands of experts, provide valuable assistance to the experimenter but is only in the beginning stages.It is becoming clear that several of the "rules" which were postulated in earlier days as governing PHC behaviour will have to be jettisoned. Although solvation interactions of PHCs are weak — they can be no stronger than hydrogen bonds — evidence is accumulating that solvation nevertheless plays a part in determining the positions of sugar equilibria and saccharide shapes. This calls into question the undue reliance on crystal structures in investigations of solution behaviour. There are hopeful signs that the long neglect of carbohydrates by physical chemists is now coming to an end.