Macromolecular asymmetry

The helix is the most common and the most readily recognized example of an enantiomorphic structure. Helical proteins and DNA are good examples of structures where a clear explanation can be provided as to why they adopt one hand or the other. Proteins and DNA are composed of chiral building blocks, amino acids and nucleotides, respectively. Only the L-amino acids occur in proteins; this uniformity of handedness is a prerequisite for helix formation and thus, one could argue, for the development of higher life forms. Helical proteins form higher order helical structures, from collagen and viral capsids to cotton fibres.