The transport of several n-fluoro-n-deoxy-D-glucose derivatives across the human erythrocyte membrane has been studied under equilibrium exchange conditions using one- and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. This approach is based on the intracellular 19F shift, which was found to depend on the anomeric form and on the F/OH substitution position. Since the transport behavior of both glucose anomers can be followed simultaneously, this approach is particularly sensitive to differences in anomeric permeability. For 2-, 3-, 4-, and 6-fluorodeoxyglucose analogs, the alpha anomers permeate more rapidly, and the P alpha/P beta ratio is dependent on the position of fluorination, with values of 1.1, 1.3, 2.5, and 1.6, respectively, obtained at 37 degrees C. These results have been analyzed in terms of a simple alternating conformation model for the glucose transporter. Although mutarotase activity has been reported for red cells, mutarotation behavior for all anomers was found to be completely negligible on the transport and spin-lattice relaxation time scales. Metabolic transformation of the fluorinated glucose analogs, primarily to fluorinated gluconate and sorbitol analogs, is very slow and does not significantly interfere with the transport measurements. A mean ratio of 2.6 was found for the extracellular/intracellular fluorine spin-lattice relaxation rates.