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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Jan 1.
Published in final edited form as: Immunol Rev. 2016 Jan;269(1):145–161. doi: 10.1111/imr.12344

Fig. 1. Structure and diversity of sialic acids.

Fig. 1

The core structure of sialic acid comprises a pyranose ring and a glycerol tail. The 5-carbon position can carry an N-Acetyl (Ac) or N-Glycolyl (Gc) group. Several types of O-substitutions have been discovered at carbon positions 4, 7, 8, and 9, giving rise to an enormous diversity of sialic acids. Carbon 2 forms glycosidic linkages with various sugars (R).