Editing Mutarotation (section)

{{short description|Change in optical rotation of a chiral substance due to interconversion of anomers}}

In [[stereochemistry]], '''mutarotation''' is the change in [[optical rotation]] of a [[Chirality (chemistry)|chiral]] material in a solution due to a change in proportion of the two constituent [[anomer]]s (i.e. the interconversion of their respective [[stereocenter]]s) until equilibrium is reached. Cyclic [[sugar]]s show mutarotation as α and β anomeric forms interconvert.<ref>IUPAC Gold Book [http://goldbook.iupac.org/M04073.html mutarotation]</ref>
The optical rotation of the solution depends on the optical rotation of each anomer and their ratio in the solution.

Mutarotation was discovered by French chemist [[Augustin-Pierre Dubrunfaut]] in 1844, when he noticed that the [[specific rotation]] of aqueous sugar solution changes with time.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Derek Horton|title=The Development of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biology|journal=Carbohydrate Chemistry, Biology and Medical Applications|pages=1–28 |year=2008 |doi= 10.1016/B978-0-08-054816-6.00001-X|isbn=9780080548166 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1021/ed017p153 | volume=17 | title=Augustin-Pierre Dubrunfaut—An early sugar chemist | year=1940 | journal=Journal of Chemical Education | page=153 | author=Fletcher Hewitt G| issue=4 | bibcode=1940JChEd..17..153F }}</ref>