Chromogen formation and degradation of N-acetylhexosamines and N-acetylneuraminic acid by barium hydroxide treatment.

Abstract

ALKALINE degradation1 has been used as a means of determining the structures of oligo- and poly-saccharides. Various alkalis have been used as degradation reagents. The barium hydroxide technique especially has been effectively used for the exploration of the chemical structure of the carbohydrate moieties of some sialomuco-proteins2–4. Under the conditions of the barium hydroxide treatment, N-acetylglucosamine5 and N-acetylneuraminic acid2 are partly converted into chromogen I (ref. 5) and N-acetylhexosamine, respectively. However, none of the reactions of N-acetylhexosamines and N-acetylneuraminic acid with barium hydroxide has as yet been completely examined. The present work was undertaken to obtain more detailed knowledge of the chromogen formation and degradation of the N-acetylhexosamines and N-acetylneuraminic acid under the conditions of barium hydroxide treatment.