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Chirality(/kaɪˈrælɪti/) is a property of asymmetryimportant in several branches of science. The word chiralityis derived from the Greekχείρ(kheir), "hand", a familiar chiral object. An object or a system is chiralif it is distinguishable from its mirror image; that is, it cannot be superposed(not to be confused with superimposed) onto it.
Chirality is an important concept for stereochemistry and biochemistry. Most substances relevant to biology are chiral, such as carbohydrates ( sugars , starch , and cellulose ), all but one of the amino acids that are the building blocks of proteins , and the nucleic acids .
The Miller–Urey experiment was a synthesis of small organic molecules in a mixture of simple gases in a thermal gradient created by heating (right) and cooling (left) the mixture at the same time, with electrical discharges. The Miller–Urey experiment[1] (or Miller experiment[2]) was an experiment in chemical synthesis carried out in 1952 ...
Amino acids whose chirality is opposite to the norm are found on Earth, and these substances are generally thought to result from decay of organisms of normal chirality. However, physicist Paul Davies speculates that some of them might be products of "anti-chiral" life. [13] It is questionable, however, whether such a biochemistry would be ...
Chiral drugs. Chemical compounds that come as mirror-image pairs are referred to by chemists as chiral or handed molecules. [1] Each twin is called an enantiomer. 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 ...
The term chiral / ˈkaɪrəl / describes an object, especially a molecule, which has or produces a non-superposable mirror image of itself. In chemistry, such a molecule is called an enantiomer or is said to exhibit chirality or enantiomerism. The term "chiral" comes from the Greek word for the human hand, which itself exhibits such non ...
Biocatalysis refers to the use of living (biological) systems or their parts to speed up (catalyze) chemical reactions. In biocatalytic processes, natural catalysts, such as enzymes, perform chemical transformations on organic compounds. Both enzymes that have been more or less isolated and enzymes still residing inside living cells are ...
Chirality timeline. Chirality timeline presents a timeline of landmark events that unfold the developments happened in the field of chirality. Many molecules come in two forms that are mirror images of each other, just like our hands. This type of molecule is called chiral. In nature, one of these forms is usually more common than the other.