Glucose Guide

Glucose (Glc), a simple sugar (monosaccharide) is an important carbohydrate in biology. Cells use it as a source of energy and a metabolic intermediate. Glucose is one of the main products of photosynthesis and starts cellular respiration. Starch and cellulose are polymers derived from the dehydration of glucose. The name "glucose" comes from the Greek word glukus (γλυκύς), meaning "sweet." The suffix "-ose" denotes a sugar.

Glucose can adopt several different structures, but all of these structures can be divided into two families of mirror-images (stereoisomers). Only one set of these isomers exists in nature, those derived from the "right-handed form" of glucose, denoted D-glucose. D-glucose is often referred to as dextrose, especially in the food industry. The term dextrose is derived from dextrorotatory glucose.[2] Solutions of dextrose rotate polarized light to the right (in Latin: dexter = "right" ). This article deals with D-glucose. The mirror-image of the molecule, L-glucose is discussed separately....