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

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.

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...

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

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...

Regioselectivity and Stereochemistry of Acid-Catalyzed Hydration

Regioselectivity and Stereochemistry of Acid-Catalyzed Hydration

The rate of acid-catalyzed hydration of alkenes depends on the alkene's structure, as the presence of alkyl substituents at the double bond can significantly influence the rate.

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Deep learning-based semantic segmentation of night-sky clouds for operational telescope scheduling.

Scientific reports·2026

Same author

Tuning the Chiroptical Properties of Tellurium Nanocrystals With Geometric Control.

Chirality·2026

Same author

Enantiospecific Magnetoconductance Asymmetry in a Racemic Conglomerate Driven by Surface-Assisted Symmetry Breaking.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026

Same author

Toward Unraveling Solvent-Induced Chirality at the Solid-Liquid Interface.

The journal of physical chemistry letters·2026

Same author

UV-Vis determination of acetate in ethanol electrolysis for renewable hydrogen production.

Analytical methods : advancing methods and applications·2026

Same author

Dynamically Chiral Surfaces Using Photoresponsive Overcrowded Alkenes.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 19, 2026

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

Dynamic control over supramolecular handedness by selecting chiral induction pathways at the solution-solid

Yuan Fang¹, Elke Ghijsens¹, Oleksandr Ivasenko¹

¹Division of Molecular Imaging and Photonics, Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001, Leuven, Belgium.

Nature Chemistry

|June 22, 2016

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Chiral surfaces are formed using the sergeant-soldiers principle. The study reveals a novel chiral amplification mechanism where surface handedness can be amplified or reversed by controlling molecular concentrations and annealing.

More Related Videos

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality

Published on: March 11, 2022

Synthesis and Characterization of Supramolecular Colloids

Synthesis and Characterization of Supramolecular Colloids

Published on: April 22, 2016

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 19, 2026

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

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality

Published on: March 11, 2022

Synthesis and Characterization of Supramolecular Colloids

Synthesis and Characterization of Supramolecular Colloids

Published on: April 22, 2016

Area of Science:

Supramolecular chemistry
Materials science
Surface chemistry

Background:

The sergeant-soldiers principle utilizes chiral molecules (sergeants) to induce chirality in achiral molecules (soldiers) for homochiral surface formation.
Controlling chirality at interfaces is crucial for advanced material applications.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate a unique chiral amplification mechanism at the solution-solid interface.
To explore the influence of temperature-dependent molecular self-assembly and concentration on chiral induction.

Main Methods:

Combining the sergeant-soldiers principle with temperature-controlled molecular self-assembly.
Analyzing chiral amplification and reversal through solution-solid interface phenomena.
Investigating two-dimensional crystal growth pathways via controlled experiments.

Main Results:

Demonstrated a peculiar chiral amplification mechanism where majority handedness can be amplified or reversed.
Identified two discrete pathways influencing two-dimensional crystal growth stages.
Showcased precise control over pathway access through experimental manipulation.

Conclusions:

Subtle intermolecular and interfacial interactions can drastically alter supramolecular network handedness.
The study provides a controllable method for generating homochiral surfaces with tunable chirality.
Understanding these interactions is key to designing advanced chiral materials.