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...

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 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.

SN1 Reaction: Stereochemistry

S_N1 Reaction: Stereochemistry

This lesson provides an in-depth discussion of the stereochemical outcomes in an SN1 reaction.
In the first step of an SN1 reaction, the bond between the electrophilic carbon and the leaving group ionizes to generate the carbocation intermediate. The second step of the mechanism is the nucleophilic attack.
In the formed carbocation, the positively charged carbon is sp2 hybridized with a trigonal planar geometry. As all the three substituents lie on the same plane, a plane of symmetry for the...

Racemic Mixtures and the Resolution of Enantiomers

Racemic Mixtures and the Resolution of Enantiomers

A racemic mixture, or racemate, is an equimolar mixture of enantiomers of a molecule that can be separated using their unique interaction with chiral molecules or media. Racemic mixtures are denoted by the (±)- prefix. This ‘optical rotation descriptor’ applies to the whole solution of a racemic mixture rather than a specific stereoisomer. Enantiomers typically have the same physical and chemical properties. Hence, they are not easily separable. However, enantiomers can exhibit...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Comparative efficacy of different components of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia on work productivity: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Journal of health psychology·2026

Same author

Label-free surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and machine learning for rapid classification and quantification of bovine respiratory disease complex viruses.

Talanta·2026

Same author

Machine learning-enabled label-free SERS for microbial sensing: Toward robust, generalizable, and deployable workflows.

Talanta·2026

Same author

Synergistic enhancement of the photoelectrochemical water splitting performance of BiFeO<sub>3</sub> photocathodes <i>via</i> potassium doping and surface platinum modification.

Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)·2026

Same author

Protocol of the Dragon study: Drug-coated balloon compared with cutting balloon in treatment of arteriovenous fistula stenosis.

The journal of vascular access·2026

Same author

Effects of supplementing concentrates with different energy levels on growth performance, blood indicators, and fecal microbiota of Mongolian horses in late gestation.

BMC veterinary research·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 5, 2026

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality

Published on: March 11, 2022

Hidden chirality in superficially racemic patchy silver films.

George K Larsen¹, Yizhuo He, Whitney Ingram

¹Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center, University of Georgia , Athens, Georgia 30602, United States.

|November 22, 2013

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Chiral patchy particle films exhibit significant circular dichroism due to deposition-induced symmetry breaking. This process enhances one enantiomer, leading to measurable chirality in the bulk material from local chiral structures.

More Related Videos

Fabrication of Thin Film Silver/Silver Chloride Electrodes with Finely Controlled Single Layer Silver Chloride

Fabrication of Thin Film Silver/Silver Chloride Electrodes with Finely Controlled Single Layer Silver Chloride

Published on: July 1, 2020

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 5, 2026

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality

Published on: March 11, 2022

Fabrication of Thin Film Silver/Silver Chloride Electrodes with Finely Controlled Single Layer Silver Chloride

Fabrication of Thin Film Silver/Silver Chloride Electrodes with Finely Controlled Single Layer Silver Chloride

Published on: July 1, 2020

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:

Materials Science
Nanotechnology
Physical Chemistry

Background:

Chiral materials are crucial for various applications, including optics and catalysis.
Controlling chirality in thin films is challenging, especially when starting from racemic mixtures.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the origin of circular dichroism in chiral patchy particle films.
To understand how deposition methods influence the chiral properties of thin films.

Main Methods:

Glancing angle deposition (GAD) was employed to fabricate chiral patchy particle films.
Microscopic analysis (e.g., electron microscopy) was used for structural characterization.
Geometric chirality calculations were performed to quantify enantiomeric excess and chirality.

Main Results:

Films with equal proportions of morphological enantiomers showed significant circular dichroism.
The rotation direction during GAD broke racemic symmetry, favoring one enantiomer.
Bulk film chirality arises from the incomplete cancellation of strong local chiralities.

Conclusions:

Glancing angle deposition is an effective method to induce and control chirality in thin films from racemic precursors.
The observed circular dichroism is a direct consequence of deposition-induced chiral symmetry breaking.
Understanding local chiral structures is key to designing macroscopic chiral materials.