Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy as a Powerful Tool for the Study of Carbohydrates in Aqueous Solutions

FT-IR spectral investigations on carbohydrates were undertaken in aqueous media in order to facilitate the assignments of vibrational bands. For pure anomeric forms of glucose, FT-IR spectra obtained as a function of time revealed many changes in spectral content, providing new information about anomer characteristic bands in aqueous media. It was also found that fructose, which is known to undergo complex mutarotation, exhibits two types of spectral changes, whereas glucose, which undergoes simple mutarotation, shows a single type of spectral change. Thus FT-IR spectral investigations in aqueous carbohydrates should be able to distinguish between simple and complex mutarotation cases. As a vibrational spectroscopic technique, the importance of FT-IR spectroscopy is further emphasized by showing that Raman spectroscopy is not sensitive enough to reveal the structural changes of carbohydrates in aqueous media.