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

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

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Identification of dispersal barriers for a colonising seagrass using seascape genetic analysis.

The Science of the total environment·2020

Same author

A slowly developed severe cutaneous adverse reaction to idelalisib.

Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV·2017

Same author

A design path for the hierarchical self-assembly of patchy colloidal particles.

Soft matter·2015

Same author

Using the uncertainty principle to design simple interactions for targeted self-assembly.

The Journal of chemical physics·2013

Same author

Novel self-assembled morphologies from isotropic interactions.

Physical review letters·2011

Same author

Designing isotropic interactions for self-assembly of complex lattices.

Physical review letters·2011

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 21, 2026

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

Chiral surfaces self-assembling in one-component systems with isotropic interactions.

E Edlund¹, O Lindgren, M Nilsson Jacobi

¹Complex Systems Group, Department of Energy and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-41296 Göteborg, Sweden.

Physical Review Letters

|June 12, 2012

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Chiral symmetry spontaneously breaks in simple systems with isotropic interactions by designing potentials for chiral surface self-assembly. This principle is demonstrated on lattices, revealing complex melting behaviors.

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

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

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 21, 2026

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

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

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

Area of Science:

Condensed Matter Physics
Materials Science
Statistical Mechanics

Background:

Many-particle systems with maximal a priori symmetry typically exhibit isotropic interactions.
Spontaneous symmetry breaking is a key phenomenon in condensed matter physics, leading to emergent order.
Designing inter-particle potentials is crucial for controlling self-assembly and material properties.

Purpose of the Study:

To demonstrate spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking in one-component systems with isotropic interactions.
To explore the self-assembly of chiral surfaces through carefully designed isotropic potentials.
To investigate the melting behavior of complex lattices with chiral supercells.

Main Methods:

Design of isotropic potentials to induce chiral surface self-assembly.
Demonstration of the principle on a simple chiral lattice model.
Extension to a more complex lattice featuring chiral supercells.

Main Results:

Successful demonstration of spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking using isotropic interactions.
Observation of self-assembled chiral surfaces on designed lattice structures.
Identification of complex melting behavior in a lattice with chiral supercells, exhibiting multiple distinct phases.

Conclusions:

Isotropic interactions can lead to spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking in one-component systems.
The design of interaction potentials is a viable route to achieving chiral self-assembly.
Complex lattices with chiral supercells exhibit predictable, phase-rich melting behavior governed by interaction design.