ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION A. History of Alkyl Polyglycosides The first alkyl glucoside was synthesized and identified in the laboratory by Emil Fischer in 1893 [1]. This process is now well known as the “Fischer glycosidation” and comprises an acid-catalyzed reaction of glycoses with alcohols. The structure of ethyl glucoside was defined correctly by Fischer, as may be seen from the historical furanosidic formula proposed (“Fischer projection”). In fact, Fischer glycosidation products are complex, mostly equilibrium mixtures of oc/P-anomers and pyranoside/furanoside isomers which also comprise randomly linked glycoside oligomers (Fig. 1) [2].
