Use of a modified Drude's equation to investigate the optical rotation property of sugars

Sugar compounds (glucose, xylose, arabinose, and galactose) and their mixed solutions were examined using the optical rotatory dispersion (ORD) measurement technique with a modified Drude's equation. Commonly, spectroscopic methods utilize the observation of absorption bands which are, in the case of sugars, located in the UV-spectral range. However, the polarization method used in this study allows us to investigate sugar samples in a convenient visible spectral range where sugar solutions are relatively transparent. The ORD set-up can be simple and robust as we will demonstrate: the self-constructed apparatus consists of only two linear polarizers, placed one after the other, with the angle between their transmission axes adjusted to 45°. The sugar solution sample in a cuvette was put between the polarizers. The set-up was connected to a sample compartment of a commercial UV-vis spectrophotometer. The method provided us the specific optical rotation and concentration of sugar solutions with a reasonable accuracy. In addition, the optical rotation value for mixed sugars has been found to be the average optical rotation value of individual sugar content. Beside use in the laboratory environment, the method could also have industrial on-site monitoring applications, for example in bio fuel production.