Glikozil

Glikozil is a term derived from the Greek word "glykys," meaning sweet, and is used in organic chemistry to refer to a glycosyl group, which is a carbohydrate residue formed by the removal of a hydrogen atom from a hydroxyl group of a monosaccharide. In essence, it is the part of a carbohydrate molecule that remains after it forms a glycosidic bond with another molecule, which can be another carbohydrate, an alcohol, a thiol, or an amine.

The formation of a glycosidic bond is a key reaction in the formation of disaccharides, polysaccharides, and other complex carbohydrates like glycoproteins and glycolipids. The glikozil group is attached to the aglycone (the non-carbohydrate part) via an oxygen (O-glycoside), nitrogen (N-glycoside), sulfur (S-glycoside), or carbon (C-glycoside) atom. The specific position of the hydroxyl group in the original monosaccharide that participates in the bond, as well as the configuration (alpha or beta) at the anomeric carbon (the carbon atom that was originally the carbonyl carbon of the monosaccharide), are crucial in defining the resulting glycosidic linkage and the properties of the larger molecule. This specificity is vital for biological recognition processes, such as cell-cell communication and immune responses.