furanose
/ˈfjʊrəˌnoʊs/
noun
- A type of sugar molecule that has a five-membered ring structure, common in many natural sugars like fructose.
- In biochemistry class, we learned that fructose often exists in a furanose form.
- The furanose ring is less stable than the six-membered pyranose ring.
- Scientists study furanose structures to understand how sugars interact with enzymes.