Aldopentoses named as ribose and 2−deoxyribose are found in nucleic acids. What is their relative configuration?
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Solution
Aldopentoses like Ribose and 2−Deoxyribose are the sugar moieties in nucleic acids like RNA and DNA respectively. As in cyclic structure to find the relative configuration we see the configuration of −OH group at last chiral centre (Here C3).
If the −OH group is in the downward direction then it is D−configuration and if the −OH group is in the upward direction then it is L− configuration.
The structures of these sugars are given below:
The configuration of both the Aldopentoses is D−configuration and are named as β−D−ribose and β−D−2−deoxyribose.