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Many chiral molecules have point chirality, namely a single chiral stereogenic center that coincides with an atom. This stereogenic center usually has four or more bonds to different groups, and may be carbon (as in many biological molecules), phosphorus (as in many organophosphates ), silicon, or a metal (as in many chiral coordination ...
The term "chiral" in general is used to describe the object that is non-superposable on its mirror image. [18] In chemistry, chirality usually refers to molecules. Two mirror images of a chiral molecule are called enantiomers or optical isomers. Pairs of enantiomers are often designated as "right-", "left-handed" or, if they have no bias ...
Chiral molecules in the receptors in our noses can tell the difference between these things. Chirality affects biochemical reactions, and the way a drug works depends on what kind of enantiomer it is. Many drugs are chiral and it is important that the shape of the drug matches the shape of the cell receptor it is meant to affect.
In biology, 19 of the 20 natural amino acids are homochiral, being L-chiral (left-handed), while sugars are D-chiral (right-handed). [1] Homochirality can also refer to enantiopure substances in which all the constituents are the same enantiomer (a right-handed or left-handed version of an atom or molecule), but some sources discourage this use ...
For example, the molecules of cholesteric liquid crystals are randomly positioned but macroscopically they exhibit a helicoidal orientational order. Other examples of structurally chiral materials can be fabricated either as stacks of uniaxial laminas or using sculptured thin films .
In stereochemistry, an asymmetric carbon is a carbon atom that is bonded to four different types of atoms or groups of atoms. [1] [2] The four atoms and/or groups attached to the carbon atom can be arranged in space in two different ways that are mirror images of each other, and which lead to so-called left-handed and right-handed versions (stereoisomers) of the same molecule.
Chiral purity is a measure of the purity of a chiral drug. Other synonyms employed include enantiomeric excess, enantiomer purity, enantiomeric purity, and optical purity. Optical purity is an obsolete term since today most of the chiral purity measurements are done using chromatographic techniques (not based on optical principles).
Chiral inversion is the process of conversion of one enantiomer of a chiral molecule to its mirror-image version with no other change in the molecule. [1] [2] [3] [4]Chiral inversion happens depending on various factors (viz. biological-, solvent-, light-, temperature- induced, etc.) and the energy barrier energy barrier associated with the stereogenic element present in the chiral molecule. 2 ...