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A chiral molecule is a type of molecule that has a non-superposable mirror image. The feature that is most often the cause of chirality in molecules is the presence of an asymmetric carbon atom. [16] [17] The term "chiral" in general is used to describe the object that is non-superposable on its mirror image. [18]
This type of molecule is called chiral. In nature, one of these forms is usually more common than the other. In our cells, one of these mirror images of a molecule fits "like a glove," while the other may be harmful. [1] [2] In nature, molecules with chirality include hormones, DNA, antibodies, and enzymes.
For example, a common case is a tetrahedral carbon bonded to four distinct groups a, b, c, and d (Cabcd), where swapping any two groups (e.g., Cbacd) leads to a stereoisomer of the original, so the central C is a stereocenter. Many chiral molecules have point chirality, namely a single chiral stereogenic center that coincides with an atom.
Drugs that exhibit handedness are referred to as chiral drugs. Chiral drugs that are equimolar (1:1) mixture of enantiomers are called racemic drugs and these are obviously devoid of optical rotation. The most commonly encountered stereogenic unit, [2] that confers chirality to drug molecules are stereogenic center. Stereogenic center can be ...
Any planar pattern that does not have a line of mirror symmetry is 2d-chiral, and examples include flat spirals and letters such as S, G, P. In contrast to 3d-chiral objects, the perceived sense of twist of 2d-chiral patterns is reversed for opposite directions of observation.
Homochirality is a uniformity of chirality, or handedness.Objects are chiral when they cannot be superposed on their mirror images. For example, the left and right hands of a human are approximately mirror images of each other but are not their own mirror images, so they are chiral.
The general principle is often referred to by the name chiral symmetry. The rule is absolutely valid in the classical mechanics of Newton and Einstein , but results from quantum mechanical experiments show a difference in the behavior of left-chiral versus right-chiral subatomic particles .
A chirality center (chiral center) is a type of stereocenter. A chirality center is defined as an atom holding a set of four different ligands (atoms or groups of atoms) in a spatial arrangement which is non-superposable on its mirror image. Chirality centers must be sp 3 hybridized, meaning that a chirality center can only have single bonds. [5]