Ribose Found in the Gas Phase

Abstract

Sweet truth: The search for sugars in interstellar space is hampered by a lack of spectroscopic information. D-Ribose is now the first C5 sugar observed in the gas phase using microwave spectroscopy. The rotational spectrum revealed six conformations of free ribose, adopting preferentially β-pyranose rings and higher-energy α-pyranose forms. No evidence of α-/β-furanoses or linear forms was found, unlike biological systems, where β-furanoses are found in RNA. Detailed facts of importance to specialist readers are published as ”Supporting Information”. Such documents are peer-reviewed, but not copy-edited or typeset. They are made available as submitted by the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.