A collaborative effort between researchers in Switzerland and Germany sees elucidation of the structure of D-ribose.

This long awaited study was carried out by McCusker, Meier, Boese, Dunitz, and co-workers with the use of single-crystal analysis, powder and X-ray diffraction, and NMR methods. The research nicely demonstrates the importance of combining different methods in structure determination.

Experiments show that D-ribose occurs in two crystal forms that contain β- and α-pyranose forms in various ratios-depending on the conditions under which the polycrystalline samples were prepared. These results raise many questions whose eventual answers will cast more light on this “small and simple” molecule.

• The Crystal Structure of D-Ribose – At Last!
   D. Scaroniscaronak, L. B. McCusker, G. Zandomeneghi, B. H. Meier, D.Bläser, R. Boese, W. B. Schweizer, R. Gilmour, J. D. Dunitz,
  Angew. Chem. 2010, Early View