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Related Concept Videos

Chirality in Nature02:30

Chirality in Nature

Chirality is the most intriguing yet essential facet of nature, governing life’s biochemical processes and precision. It can be observed from a snail shell pattern in a macroscopic world to an amino acid, the minutest building block of life. Most of the snails around the world have right-coiled shells because of the intrinsic chirality in their genes. All the amino acids present in the human body exist in an enantiomerically pure state, except for glycine - the sole achiral amino acid. The...
Molecular Chaperones and Protein Folding03:00

Molecular Chaperones and Protein Folding

The native conformation of a protein is formed by interactions between the side chains of its constituent amino acids. When the amino acids cannot form these interactions, the protein cannot fold by itself and needs chaperones. Notably, chaperones do not relay any additional information required for the folding of polypeptides; the native conformation of a protein is determined solely by its amino acid sequence. Chaperones catalyze protein folding without being a part of the folded protein.
The...
Molecular Chaperones and Protein Folding03:00

Molecular Chaperones and Protein Folding

The native conformation of a protein is formed by interactions between the side chains of its constituent amino acids. When the amino acids cannot form these interactions, the protein cannot fold by itself and needs chaperones. Notably, chaperones do not relay any additional information required for the folding of polypeptides; the native conformation of a protein is determined solely by its amino acid sequence. Chaperones catalyze protein folding without being a part of the folded protein.
The...
Prochirality02:05

Prochirality

The concept of prochirality leads to the nomenclature of the individual faces of a molecule and plays a crucial role in the enantioselective reaction. It is a concept where two or more achiral molecules react to produce chiral products. A typical process is the reaction of an achiral ketone to generate a chiral alcohol. Here, the achiral reactant reacts with an achiral reducing agent, sodium borohydride, to generate an equimolar mixture of the chiral enantiomers of the product. For example, an...
Protein Folding01:25

Protein Folding

Proteins are chains of amino acids linked together by peptide bonds. Upon synthesis, a protein folds into a three-dimensional conformation, critical to its biological function. Interactions between its constituent amino acids guide protein folding, and hence the protein structure is primarily dependent on its amino acid sequence.
Protein Structure Is Critical to Its Biological Function
Proteins perform a wide range of biological functions such as catalyzing chemical reactions, providing...
Protein Folding01:22

Protein Folding

Overview

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Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Self-assembling Morphologies Obtained from Helical Polycarbodiimide Copolymers and Their Triazole Derivatives
09:22

Self-assembling Morphologies Obtained from Helical Polycarbodiimide Copolymers and Their Triazole Derivatives

Published on: February 7, 2017

Dendritic molecular switch: chiral folding and helicity inversion.

Xuan Jiang1, Young-Kwan Lim, Bong June Zhang

  • 1Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, 800 East Kirkwood Avenue, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA.

Journal of the American Chemical Society
|June 26, 2009
PubMed
Summary

Chemically designed molecules self-assemble into chiral propeller structures. Solvent interactions and chemical modifications can controllably invert the molecular helicity, enabling new chiroptical switches.

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High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal
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High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal

Published on: October 31, 2019

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Last Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Self-assembling Morphologies Obtained from Helical Polycarbodiimide Copolymers and Their Triazole Derivatives
09:22

Self-assembling Morphologies Obtained from Helical Polycarbodiimide Copolymers and Their Triazole Derivatives

Published on: February 7, 2017

High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal
06:24

High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal

Published on: October 31, 2019

Area of Science:

  • Supramolecular Chemistry
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Chiroptical Materials

Background:

  • Well-defined molecular architectures can achieve complex secondary structures without biological templates.
  • Hyperbranched molecules offer unique structural possibilities for self-assembly.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To design and synthesize tris(N-salicylideneaniline)-based hyperbranched molecules with predictable helical folding.
  • To investigate the influence of chiral centers and solvent interactions on molecular helicity.
  • To explore the potential for controlled helicity inversion in chiroptical molecular switches.

Main Methods:

  • Synthesis of tris(N-salicylideneaniline) derivatives with varying chiral alcohol groups.
  • Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy to study molecular structure and folding.
  • Circular Dichroism (CD) spectroscopy to analyze chiroptical properties and helicity.
  • Correlation analysis with solvent parameters (Donor Number, Solvent Basicity).

Main Results:

  • Spontaneous formation of C3-symmetric, three-blade propeller structures with (P)- or (M)-handedness.
  • Direct correlation between the configuration of chiral alcohol groups and the screw sense of helical folding.
  • Solvent-dependent structural unfolding and refolding, leading to helicity inversion.
  • Demonstration of covalently triggered helicity inversion using protecting groups.

Conclusions:

  • Chiral alcohol groups dictate the initial helical sense in these designed molecules.
  • Solvent interactions, specifically hydrogen bonding, can reversibly control molecular folding and induce helicity inversion.
  • Covalently triggered helicity inversion offers a novel mechanism for developing responsive chiroptical molecular switches.