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There are three common naming conventions for specifying one of the two enantiomers (the absolute configuration) of a given chiral molecule: the R/S system is based on the geometry of the molecule; the (+)- and (−)- system (also written using the obsolete equivalents d- and l-) is based on its optical rotation properties; and the D/L system is based on the molecule's relationship to ...
There is no strict relationship between the R/S, the D/L, and (+)/(−) designations, although some correlations exist. For example, of the naturally occurring amino acids, all are L, and most are (S). For some molecules the (R)-enantiomer is the dextrorotary (+) enantiomer, and in other cases it is the levorotary (−) enantiomer. The ...
In nature, only one enantiomer of most chiral biological compounds, such as amino acids (except glycine, which is achiral), is present. Enantiomers differ by the direction they rotate polarized light: the amount of a chiral compound's optical rotation in the (+) direction is equal to the amount of its enantiomer's rotation in the (–) direction.
Two enantiomers of a generic amino acid that are chiral (S)-Alanine (left) and (R)-alanine (right) in zwitterionic form at neutral pH. In chemistry, a molecule or ion is called chiral (/ ˈ k aɪ r əl /) if it cannot be superposed on its mirror image by any combination of rotations, translations, and some conformational changes.
The ideal kinetic resolution is that in which only one enantiomer reacts, i.e. k R >>k S. The selectivity (s) of a kinetic resolution is related to the rate constants of the reaction of the R and S enantiomers, k R and k S respectively, by s=k R /k S, for k R >k S. This selectivity can also be referred to as the relative rates of reaction.
In chemistry, a racemic mixture or racemate (/ r eɪ ˈ s iː m eɪ t, r ə-, ˈ r æ s ɪ m eɪ t / [1]) is one that has equal amounts of left- and right-handed enantiomers of a chiral molecule or salt. Racemic mixtures are rare in nature, but many compounds are produced industrially as racemates.
The unforeseen teratogenicity of the (R)-(+)-isomer caused it to become an important case study of stereochemistry in medicine. Although it is possible to chemically isolate just the desired (S)-(−)-isomer from the racemic mixture, the two enantiomers rapidly interconvert in vivo; thus rendering their separation to be of little use. [14]
After Benzer demonstrated the power of the T4 rII system for exploring the fine structure of the gene, others adapted the system to explore related problems.For example, Francis Crick and others used one of the peculiar r mutants Benzer had found (a deletion that fused the A and B cistrons of rII) to demonstrate the triplet nature of the genetic code.