D-Galactopyranose (C6H12O6): structure, properties and hazards

Names and identifiers

IUPAC name: (3R,4S,5R,6R)-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxane-2,3,4,5-tetrol
Synonyms: galactose, brain sugar, lactose unit
+ 37 more
galactopyranose, galactopyranoside, (3R,4S,5R,6R)-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxane-2,3,4,5-tetrol, Galactose, pure, D-Gal, d-galactopyranoside, CHEBI:12936, CHEBI:28061, CHEBI:28260, GAL, D Galactose, NSC-8102, SNFG:Gal, RefChem:7383, Gal (SNFG), GlyTouCan:G68158BT, CHEBI:37621, DTXCID601437050, G68158BT, 200-416-4, 7IOF6H4H77, Brain sugar, Cerebrose, D(+)-Galactose, D-Galactose, DTXCID301437051, DTXSID0023088, DTXSID601014458, Galactose, X2RN3Q8DNE, (3R,4S,5R,6R)-6-(Hydroxymethyl)tetrahydro-2H-pyran-2,3,4,5-tetraol, CHEBI:4139, (+)-Galactose, D-Galactose - anhydrous, SMR000857326, Galactose CRS, D-aGalactopyranose
Molecular formula: C₆H₁₂O₆
Empirical formula: CH₂O
Molecular weight: 180.16 g/mol
Exact mass: 180.06339
CAS number: 59-23-4
PubChem CID: 6036
Canonical SMILES: C(C1C(C(C(C(O1)O)O)O)O)O
Isomeric SMILES: C([C@@H]1[C@@H]([C@@H]([C@H](C(O1)O)O)O)O)O
InChI: InChI=1S/C6H12O6/c7-1-2-3(8)4(9)5(10)6(11)12-2/h2-11H,1H2/t2-,3+,4+,5-,6?/m1/s1
InChIKey: WQZGKKKJIJFFOK-SVZMEOIVSA-N
Molfile

Names, InChI and the identifiers from PubChem, retrieved 2026-10-14.

Calculated

Heavy atoms: 12
Rings: 1
Aromatic rings: 0
Fraction sp³ carbons (Fsp3): 1
H-bond donors: 5
H-bond acceptors: 6
Rotatable bonds: 1
TPSA (Å²): 110.4 computed here · PubChem 110
Formal charge: 0
XLogP3: -2.6 PubChem
Complexity: 151 PubChem
Stereocenters: 4 defined, 1 undefinedCIP: C3: R · C5: undefined · C7: R · C9: S · C11: R
Double-bond geometry: None specified
Point group: C1 of one 3D conformer with its hydrogens, by Athanor’s engine (as in the app)

Elemental analysis

C40.00%
H6.71%
O53.28%

Isotope pattern

Each peak is a nominal mass with its abundance-weighted exact mass, as a percentage of the tallest, from IUPAC natural isotope abundances.

Computed from the structure with RDKit 2026.09 when this page was built, beside PubChem's own computed values from its record; where the two differ, both are shown.

Predicted

log P: -3.22 Crippen (Wildman and Crippen 1999)
log S (water solubility): 1.14 ESOL (Delaney 2004), log mol/L
Synthetic accessibility: 3.6 SA score, 1 easy to 10 hard (Ertl and Schuffenhauer 2009)

Drug-likeness: Lipinski’s rule of five

Molecular weight ≤ 500: 180.16
log P ≤ 5 (Crippen): -3.22
H-bond donors ≤ 5: 5
H-bond acceptors ≤ 10: 6

Passes all four rules.

¹³C NMR shifts, predicted

Predictions, not measurements; each names its method. A measured log P, where a source reports one, is under Physical properties.

Safety

Warning

From European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). Source [1].

Harmful or irritant

H319Causes serious eye irritation

Precautionary statements: P264+P265, P280, P305+P351+P338, P337+P317

View all classifications (2)

[1] European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) · 180 reportsThis chemical does not meet GHS hazard criteria for 100% (180 of 180) of all reports.
[1] European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) · WarningH319

Safety data sheets on the supplier’s page: J&H Chemical Co.,ltd, Fluorochem, eNovation Chemicals.

Always read the supplier’s safety data sheet before working with it.

Spectra

Experimental spectra held by these sources; each link opens the source's own record.

Literature

Reading PubChem, OpenAlex and GSRS…

Bioactivity

Reading ChEMBL…

References

[1]European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) · ECHA legal notice: reuse with acknowledgement · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
[2]SpectraBase · Linked only · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
[3]MassBank Europe · Linked only · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
[4]MassBank of North America (MoNA) · CC BY 4.0 · via PubChem · retrieved 2026-10-14
·Calculated values: computed by Athanor with RDKit 2026.09 from the structure.
·Literature on PubChem

Data last updated 2026-10-14.

Similar structures

Tanimoto similarity on Morgan fingerprints (radius 2) with RDKit 2026.09, at least 45%.