In chemistry, a Haworth projection is a common way of writing a structural formula to represent the cyclic structure of monosaccharides with a simple three-dimensional perspective. Haworth projection approximate the shapes of the actual molecules better for furanoses—which are in reality nearly planar—than for pyranoses which exist in solution in the chair conformation.[1] Organic chemistry and especially biochemistry are the areas of chemistry that use the Haworth projection the most.
The Haworth projection was named after the British chemist Sir Norman Haworth.[2]
A Haworth projection has the following characteristics:[3]