Selective interactions of 18-crown-6 with d-glucose and d-galactose in aqueous solutions: Titration calorimetry, densimetry, viscosimetry

Titration calorimetric, densimetric and viscosimetric measurements have been combined to study the interactions of 18-crown-6 with d-glucose and d-galactose in water. The crown ether forms a thermodynamically stable 1:1 complex with d-galactose but not with d-glucose. These observations are explained in terms of the stereochemistry of the monosaccharide molecules.