white crystalline compound
D-(-)-Arabinose is used in culture media for some bacteria. It serves as a component of biopolymers such as hemicellulose and pectin. In the synthetic biology laboratory, it is employed as a reversible switch for protein expression under the Pbad promoter (i.e. part of plasmids) in E. coli. Further, it acts as an inhibitor of the enzyme glucose dehydrogenase. In addition to this, it is used as a pharmaceutical intermediate and food additive.
pharmaceutical intermediate; food additive
Isotope labelled analogue of D-Arabinose (A764175), an inhibitor of the enzyme glucose dehydrogenase.
ChEBI: Aldehydo-D-arabinose is an aldehydo-arabinose and a D-arabinose. It is an enantiomer of an aldehydo-L-arabinose.
Crystallise D-(-)-arabinose three times from EtOH, dry it in vacuo at 60o for 24hours and store it in a vacuum desiccator. It also crystallises from a mixture of H2O/MeOH/EtOH with m 158-160o, or H2O with m 160-161o. [Whistler & Schweiger J Am Chem Soc 81 5190 1959, Fletcher et al. J Am Chem Soc 72 4546 1950, Beilstein 1 IV 4215, see Angyal Adv Carbohydrate Chem Biochem 42 15 1984 for ratio of anomers in solution.]
