What is Epimerization?
Epimerization is a chemical process in which one epimer is converted into its counterpart in the pair. The process involves enzymatic catalysis or chemical reactions, leading to the change in configuration at the specific carbon atom in a sugar molecule. Epimerization is important in biological system as it ensures conversion of basic sugar forms into their epimers that serve as important components in various metabolic and cell signaling pathways. Apart from this epimerization has served as important basis in understanding drug metabolism and drug development.
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