[randommscience117]

In chemistry we are working on this problem: (red is the text as written in our problem)

"The starting material for the commercial synthesis of Vitamin 'C' is L-sorbose. (see the following reaction). It can be synthesized from D-glucose through the following reaction sequence:

D-glucose --_{H2 (Ni)}--> D-Glucitol --_{O2 acetobacter suboxydans bacteria}-->"

(D-glucose reacts with Hydrogen in the presence of a nickel catalyst to yield D-Glucitol, which then reacts with the acetobacter suboxydans bacteria in the presence of oxygen to yield the vitamin 'C')

"The second step in the sequence illustrates the bacterial oxidation by the microorganism acetobacter suboxydans, which accomplishes this step to 90% yield. The overall result of the synthesis is the transformation of a D-aldohexose (D-glucose) into an L-ketohexose (L-sorbose). What does this mean about the specificity of the bacterial oxidation?"

So I'm not really sure if I understand exactly what the question is asking for. I know that this means that the bacteria is oxidizing the aldehyde group of the D-glucitol molecule, but I'm not really sure about how it specifically oxidizes. Any help you can give would be appreciated, Thanks!

[fledarmus]

Can you draw the structures of D-glucitol and L-sorbose?

[randommscience117]

L-Sorbose        D-Glucitol

[orgopete]

D-glucitol is nearly symmetrical. If the enzyme oxidized the wrong end, would you get vitamin C or its enantiomer?