The starting material for a commercial synthesis of vitamin C is l-sorbose (see the following reaction); it can be synthesized from d-glucose through the following reaction sequence:

The second step of this sequence illustrates the use of a bacterial oxidation; the microorganism A. suboxydans accomplishes this step in 90% yield. The overall result of the synthesis is the transformation of a d-aldohexose (d-glucose) into an l-ketohexose (l-sorbose). What does this mean about the specificity of the bacterial oxidation?

Transcribed Image Text:

он но 0. D-Glucose Ni он Acetobacter suboxydans HO он L-Sorbose