Regiospecific transglycolytic synthesis and structural characterization of 6-O-alpha-glucopyranosyl-glucopyranose (isomaltose).

The enzymatic synthesis of 6-O-alpha-glucopyranosyl-glucopyranose (isomaltose) was achieved. The regiospecific transglycosylation reaction was catalyzed by a crude preparation of alpha-D-glucosidase from Aspergillus niger, using p-nitrophenyl alpha-D-glucopyranose as the donor and glucopyranose as the acceptor. The yield of the reaction was 59% on a molar basis with respect to the donor. The structural identity of the product was fully determined by HPLC, HPAEC-PAD, ionspray mass spectrometry and (13)C NMR.