6‐Deoxy‐D‐glucose and D‐xylose: Analogs for the study of D‐glucose transport by mouse 3T3 cells

6‐Deoxy‐D‐glucose and D‐xylose, structural homomorphs of D‐glucose that lack a 6‐hydroxyl group or a 6‐hydroxymethyl group, respectively, are transported efficiently by mouse 3T3 cells, with good affinity and high specificity for the D‐glucose transport system. Since these analogs lack the 6‐hydroxyl group, which is the site of phosphorylation of glucose by hexokinase, they are taken up and are recoverable from cells in an unchanged state. Thus, 6‐deoxy‐D‐glucose and D‐xylose offer advantages as transport substrates over 2‐deoxy‐D‐glucose, which is phosphorylated by intercellular hexokinases, and 3‐O‐methyl‐D‐glucose, which shows a lower specificity for the D‐glucose transport system.