Formation of radicals in irradiated maltose - the role of hydrogen bonding with water.

The EPR spectra of irradiated maltose were obtained and compared to those of sucrose and glucose. In maltose anhydrite, the main radicals were produced from the cleavage of the glycoside bond at the C1 carbon with a carbonyl at the C2 carbon the same as those in sucrose. On the contrary, a carbonyl anion radical involving the proton hydrogen bonding to a water molecule was also observed in maltose monohydrate. The conformation of the carbonyl anion radical changed and became stable.