What are Epimers?
Epimers are isomers of carbohydrates that have the same chemical formula but different structural arrangements. They are types of diastereomers that vary in configuration at only one chiral centre and do not form mirror images of each other. There can be more than one chiral centre in a molecule; hence a molecule can give rise to many epimeric forms. Some common examples of epimers include D-galactose and D-glucose, ribose and arabinose, Mannose and glucose, etc. An epimer in an epimeric pair undergoes epimerization reaction to form the other epimer.
Epimers
Epimers are a particular kind of stereoisomer, which is an isomer with the same chemical formula but a different spatial arrangement of atoms. To be more precise, epimers are diastereomers subclass that vary in how their single stereocenter (chiral center) is arranged inside the molecule. In this article, we will learn about epimers, examples, epimerization, etc.
Table of Content
- Epimers Definition
- What are Epimers?
- Examples of Epimers
- What is Epimerization?
- What are Diastereomers?
- What are Enantiomers?
- What are cis-trans Isomers?
- What are Anomers?
- Difference between Epimers and Diastereomers
- Difference between Anomers and Epimers
- Difference between Epimers and Enantiomers