Incorporating Carbohydrates into Laboratory Curricula

Abstract

As an important but underappreciated field, carbohydrate chemistry is a critical topic for undergraduate students to learn. With applications to nutrition, food science, and diabetes, carbohydrates provide real-world relevance to students. This review summarizes the literature of undergraduate laboratory experiments which use carbohydrates since the year 2000. Experiments explore important chemical concepts such as synthesis, kinetics, analysis, and computational chemistry. Experiments designed for general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, and analytical chemistry at a variety of skill levels are presented.

Comparison of analytical methods for rapid & reliable quantification of plant-based carbohydrates for the quintessential bioenergy educator

“…There are several commercially available methods for analysis of carbohydrates in human blood or food that have been adapted previously for various student laboratory experiments as also highlighted in a recent ACS Chemical Reviews article. 21 Briefly, these analytical methods can be classified into two common approaches; (a) Spectrophotometry coupled to colorimetric based sugar detection assays, 11,13 and (b) Amperometry coupled to enzyme-based sugar detection assays. 22 Colorimetric based assays were first developed over 150 years ago to quantify glucose in urine and blood samples to diagnose diabetic patients and have been adapted over the years as part of several undergraduate-level teaching and clinical laboratories.…”

Interlocking Toy Building Blocks as Teaching Modules for an Undergraduate Organic Chemistry-Based Course for Allied Health Majors

“…8 A recent review highlighted the ubiquitous role of undergraduate organic chemistry in the development of modern diagnostic and healthcare devices. 9 The biochemistry of carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids in the diet begins with the structures and properties of the organic compounds present in them. 10 Molecular models are an indispensable part of the organic chemistry classroom.…”

Conjugate Addition of Carbon Acids to β,γ-Unsaturated α-Keto Esters: Product Tautomerism and Applications for Asymmetric Synthesis of Benzo[a]phenazin-5-ol Derivatives

“…The ring-chain tautomerism of organic compounds is of great significance in nature and organic chemistry . A classic example of this phenomenon is the gradual interconversion of linear carbohydrates into their cyclic forms, which results in the change in optical rotation (mutarotation) . The capability of linear γ- and δ-hydroxycarbonyl compounds to transform reversibly into cyclic hemiacetals or hemiketals enables large-scale production of useful heterocyclic compounds, such as furaldehyde, chromanes, chromenes, β-nicotinamide riboside and its analogues, and so forth.…”