Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Molecules with Multiple Chiral Centers

Molecules with Multiple Chiral Centers

Molecules that possess multiple chiral centers can afford a large number of stereoisomers. For instance, while some molecules like 2-butanol have one chiral center, defined as a tetrahedral carbon atom with four different substituents attached, several molecules like butane-2,3-diol have multiple chiral centers. A simple formula to predict the number of stereoisomers possible for a molecule with n chiral centers is 2n. However, there can be a lower number where some of the stereoisomers are...

Prochirality

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...

Chirality at Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur

Chirality at Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur

Chirality is most prevalent in carbon-based tetrahedral compounds, but this important facet of molecular symmetry extends to sp3-hybridized nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur centers, including trivalent molecules with lone pairs. Here, the lone pair behaves as a functional group in addition to the other three substituents to form an analogous tetrahedral center that can be chiral.
A consequence of chirality is the need for enantiomeric resolution. While this is theoretically possible for all...

Chirality

Chirality

Chirality is a term that describes the lack of mirror symmetry in an object. In other words, chiral objects cannot be superposed on their mirror images. For example, our feet are chiral, as the mirror image of the left foot, the right foot, cannot be superposed on the left foot.
Chiral objects exhibit a sense of handedness when they interact with another chiral object. For example, our left foot can only fit in the left shoe and not in the right shoe. Achiral objects — objects that have...

Stereoisomerism of Cyclic Compounds

Stereoisomerism of Cyclic Compounds

In this lesson, we delve into the role of ring conformation and its stability, which determines the spatial arrangement and, consequently, the molecular symmetry and stereoisomerism of cyclic compounds. 1,2-Dimethylcyclohexane is used as a case study to evaluate the possible number of stereoisomers. Here, given the multiple (n = 2) chiral centers, there are 2n = 4 possible configurations that lack a plane of symmetry, as the ring skeleton exists in a non-planar chair conformation. In addition,...

Chirality in Nature

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...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Extreme Activation of Surface Proton Hopping Conduction Mechanism via Self-Assembly of Liquid-Crystalline Discotic Molecules.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026

Same author

Chromosome-level genome assembly and annotation of the Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii, Percichthyidae).

Scientific data·2026

Same author

Comparative outcomes of single condylar replacement and total knee arthroplasty in elderly patients with knee osteoarthritis: A controlled clinical study.

Journal of orthopaedic surgery (Hong Kong)·2026

Same author

Gyroid Labyrinth of Supertwisted Double Helices in a Liquid Crystal Polymer.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2025

Same author

The chromosome-level genome assembly and annotation of Salvelinus malma.

Scientific data·2025

Same author

Bullvalene-Containing Molecular Glasses.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 25, 2026

Construction and Systematical Symmetric Studies of a Series of Supramolecular Clusters with Binary or Ternary Ammonium Triphenylacetates

Construction and Systematical Symmetric Studies of a Series of Supramolecular Clusters with Binary or Ternary Ammonium Triphenylacetates

Published on: February 15, 2016

Supermolecular chiral mesogenic tripedes.

Abdelhak Belaissaoui¹, Isabel M Saez, Stephen J Cowling

¹Department of Chemistry, University of York, Heslington Road, York, YO10 5DD, UK. abdel.belaissaoui@york.ac.uk

Chemistry (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)

|January 21, 2012

Summary

Novel chiral liquid crystalline tripedes derived from Glucoside and Mannoside exhibit unique chiral nematic (N*) and smectic A (SmA) phases. Their thermal and mesomorphic properties are influenced by core chirality and functional groups.

More Related Videos

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water

Published on: August 2, 2012

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

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

Published on: February 7, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 25, 2026

Construction and Systematical Symmetric Studies of a Series of Supramolecular Clusters with Binary or Ternary Ammonium Triphenylacetates

Construction and Systematical Symmetric Studies of a Series of Supramolecular Clusters with Binary or Ternary Ammonium Triphenylacetates

Published on: February 15, 2016

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water

Published on: August 2, 2012

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

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

Published on: February 7, 2017

Area of Science:

Supramolecular Chemistry
Materials Science
Organic Chemistry

Background:

Chiral liquid crystals are crucial for advanced optical and electronic applications.
Designing molecules with tunable mesomorphic properties remains a key challenge in materials science.
Glycosylated molecules offer unique structural and chiral properties for self-assembly.

Purpose of the Study:

To synthesize novel chiral liquid crystalline tripedes based on Glucoside and Mannoside derivatives.
To investigate the influence of core chirality and functional groups on the thermal and mesomorphic behavior.
To explore the formation of chiral nematic (N*) and smectic A (SmA) phases in these glyco-supermolecules.

Main Methods:

Synthesis of Glucoside (G) and Mannoside (M) derivatives (G(n), M(n), n=1-3).
Regioselective functionalization of the C6 position with tert-butyldimethylsilyl (TBDMS), hydroxyl, or carboxylic acid groups.
Attachment of functionalized cores to cyanobiphenyl units via a hexanoyl spacer.

Main Results:

Successful synthesis of a novel series of chiral liquid crystalline tripedes.
Observation of chiral nematic (N*) and smectic A (SmA) liquid crystalline phases.
Demonstration that core chirality and specific functional groups significantly impact mesomorphic characteristics.

Conclusions:

The synthesized glyco-supermolecules represent a new class of chiral liquid crystals.
The study highlights the structure-property relationships governing the mesophase behavior of glycosylated materials.
These findings contribute to the development of novel chiral materials for potential applications.