Fructose Sugar Molecule Chemical Structure

Fructose, also known as fruit sugar, is ingested by humans mainly as sucrose, a disaccharide that includes glucose. Its linear form, D-fructose, is a ketose sugar, based on the ketone functional group at carbon 2. Fructose forms beta-d-fructofuranose, a 5 membered ring where the carbon 5 alcohol bonds with carbon 2 to produce an ether functional group.

You can use our 3D Molecular Model Builder to illustrate fructose in its various forms. Choose the model style: "Orbit-flexible" & enter the structure you want to view/build. Simply enter D-fructose for the linear molecule or L-fructose for its optical isomer. View the various ring structures by entering beta-d-fructopyranose or alpha-d-fructopyranose o view 6 member rings; 5 beta-d-fructofuranose or alpha-d-fructofuranose for 5 member rings.