Haworth projection

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A Haworth projection of the structure for α-D-glucopyranose
A Haworth projection of the structure for α-D-glucopyranose

A Haworth projection is a common way of representing the cyclic structure of monosaccharides with a simple three-dimensional perspective.

The Haworth projection was named after the English chemist Sir Walter N. Haworth.

A Haworth projection has the following characteristics:

  • Carbon is the implicit type of atom. In the example on the right, the atoms numbered from 1 to 6 are all carbon atoms. Carbon 1 is known as the Anomeric Carbon.
  • Hydrogen atoms on carbon are implicit. In the example, atoms 1 to 6 have extra hydrogen atoms not depicted.
  • A thicker line indicates atoms that are closer to the observer. In the example on the right, atoms 2 and 3 (and their corresponding OH groups) are the closest to the observer, atoms 1 and 4 are further from the observer and finally the remaining atoms (5, etc.) are the furthest.

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