What is the structure of maltose?
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Maltose is a type of carbohydrate. Carbohydrates are one of the nutrients necessary for our body to properly function and are one of the main sources of energy for the body. They are typically composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Maltose is made by combining two glucose units together. Glucose has six carbons, six oxygens, and twelve hydrogens. Glucose typically forms a ring structure like this:
The carbon that is numbered one, or the alpha carbon, is then connected to another glucose molecule at carbon number four to look like this:
In this diagram, the carbons in the ring are represented by a point in the ring instead of writing 'C' for each carbon. When the two glucose molecules combine, an oxygen and two hydrogens are lost as water, so now maltose has twelve carbons, eleven oxygens, and twenty-two hydrogens. Since there are two units connected, maltose is referred to as a disaccharide: 'di' meaning two and saccharide is another name for a simple carbohydrate or sugar (such as glucose). So, it is a carbohydrate with two sugar units.
The carbon that is numbered one, or the alpha carbon, is then connected to another glucose molecule at carbon number four to look like this:
In this diagram, the carbons in the ring are represented by a point in the ring instead of writing 'C' for each carbon. When the two glucose molecules combine, an oxygen and two hydrogens are lost as water, so now maltose has twelve carbons, eleven oxygens, and twenty-two hydrogens. Since there are two units connected, maltose is referred to as a disaccharide: 'di' meaning two and saccharide is another name for a simple carbohydrate or sugar (such as glucose). So, it is a carbohydrate with two sugar units.
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