In this work we present a systematic, theoretical investigation of the ¹³C NMR chemical
shifts for several mono-, di- and trisaccharides in the solid state. The chemical shifts have been calculated using density functional theory (DFT) together with the gauge including the projector augmented wave (GIPAW) method as implemented in the CASTEP program. We studied the changes in the ¹³C NMR chemical shifts in particular due to the formation of one or two glycosidic linkages and due to crystal water. The largest changes, up to 14 ppm, are observed between the mono- and disaccharides and typically for the glycosidic linkage atoms, but not in all cases. An analysis of the bond angles at the glycosidic linkage and the observed changes in chemical shifts displays no direct correlation between them. Somewhat smaller changes in the range of 2 to 5 ppm are observed when single crystal water molecules are close to some of the atoms. Relating the changes in the chemical shifts of the carbon atoms closest to the crystal water to the distance between them does, however, not lead to a simple relation between them.