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Analogies and differences in the excited reactions of formaldehyde and D-glucose
1Department of Organic Chemical Technology, Technical University of Budapest, Hungary.
Abstract:
The investigations proved that D-glucose (as reducing sugar) can easily be activated in a ternary system (L-lysine: D-glucose: H2O2) similarly to formaldehyde at 20 degrees C, in pH = 7.4 forming chemiluminescence (CL) and singlet oxygen. The kinetic investigation showed that: CL lasted many hours (permanent emission) and had no bell-shaped curve differently from other aldehydes e.g. formaldehyde. The reason of the effect is that D-glucose exists mainly in ring form in water solution (Haworth ring form) and the open form (the aldehyde group) is slowly liberated during the excited reaction. These excited reactions may be important in human organism, because D-glucose and lysyl residues of proteins occur permanently in human body and endogenous formaldehyde and H2O2 may be liberated there, too.
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