| Abstract
| - Raman spectra of nine anomerically stable monosaccharides have been obtained in aqueous solution in the 700−1700 cm-1 spectral range. Good-quality spectra areobtained of solutions with concentrations as low as 10 mMand volumes as small as 15 μL. Interestingly, the Ramanspectra appear to be exquisitely sensitive to the configuration of the carbon centers; unique spectra are obtainedof all nine monosaccharides. The unique Raman spectralfingerprint observed for each monosaccharide, and foreach anomer of each monosaccharide, suggests thatRaman spectroscopy may be a useful technique for theidentification and characterization of biologically relevantoligosaccharides. To test this idea, Raman spectra of threeunknown disaccharides were obtained in a single-blindstudy. Identification of the individual monosaccharidecomponents and their anomeric configuration was completely successful. All of these results suggest that development of Raman spectroscopy as a fast, sensitive discovery tool in glycobiology and carbohydrate chemistry isstraightforward.
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