So to close the discussion, @KateBunting, which is the preferred way to present it? (In terms of punctuation and spelling of the letters.) I'd ask for the best way but this is a stackexchange website for discussion on a liberal art.

@KateBunting It's an organic chemistry class and he's calling out the hydrogen atoms and hydroxyl groups as he goes. It's not essential to the story but it's an experience I'd like the reader to have. It might be clear if the reader has a pre-existing knowledge about carbohydrates, I don't plan on introducing a glucose structure in a fiction novel.