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Glite Dictionary
glycolaldehyde

glycolaldehyde

1 9.9
A small sugar-like chemical used as a building block for larger molecules
  • noun
  • /ˌɡlaɪkoʊˈæl.dɪ.haɪd/
  • Specialized
: glicolaldehído
  • Glycolaldehyde is identified as the simplest sugar, crucial in various biological reactions.
  • a simple sugar called glycolaldehyde

Examples

  • In some metabolic pathways, glycolaldehyde acts as a building block for larger biomolecules.

  • The chemical formula for glycolaldehyde is C2H4O2.

  • The chemist used glycolaldehyde as an intermediate to build more complex carbohydrate molecules.

  • Researchers detected glycolaldehyde in interstellar space, suggesting the presence of simple sugars.

  • Researchers have discovered glycolaldehyde in space.

  • Researchers have succeeded in synthesizing glycolaldehyde, the smallest sugar found in nature.

  • In their study, scientists highlighted the importance of glycolaldehyde, a fundamental sugar compound, in organic chemistry.

Surface Forms

glycolaldehyde singular
glycolaldehydes plural

Morphology

glycolaldehyde = glycol + aldehyde (transparent) = glycol + aldehyde

The word is a straightforward chemical compound name formed by compounding 'glycol' and 'aldehyde', indicating an aldehyde related to a glycol (i.e., contains both alcohol and aldehyde functional groups).

Etymology

Glycolaldehyde is made of the parts glycol and aldehyde. The glycol part comes from a word meaning 'sweet' and links to glucose, a common sugar, and aldehyde names a chemical group like 'alcohol' but with a small change. So, glycolaldehyde is literally a very small sugar molecule that has both an alcohol part and an aldehyde part.