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Related Concept Videos

Chirality02:25

Chirality

28.8K
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...
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Prochirality02:05

Prochirality

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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...
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Chirality in Nature02:30

Chirality in Nature

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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.
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Chirality at Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur02:30

Chirality at Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur

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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...
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Properties of Enantiomers and Optical Activity02:24

Properties of Enantiomers and Optical Activity

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It is essential to understand the difference between chiral and achiral interactions and the implications thereof in optical activity and their applications. Just as our feet, which are chiral, interact uniquely with chiral objects, such as a pair of shoes, but identically with achiral socks, enantiomers of a molecule exhibit different properties only when they interact with other chiral media. An example of a significant implication from this facet is the phenomenon known as optical activity,...
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Molecules with Multiple Chiral Centers02:25

Molecules with Multiple Chiral Centers

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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...
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A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality
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Identification and sorting of particle chirality using liquid crystallinity.

Burak Akdeniz1, Ozge Batir1, Emre Bukusoglu1

  • 1Department of Chemical Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Dumlupinar Bulvari No. 1, Çankaya, Ankara 06800, Turkey.

Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
|April 17, 2020
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Summary

This study demonstrates how controlling the azimuthal surface director of particles in liquid crystals (LCs) precisely positions them. Chirality influences particle distribution and orientation, enabling applications in sensors and soft robotics.

Keywords:
AlignmentChiralityLiquid crystalsParticlesSurface anchoring

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Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Soft Matter Physics
  • Nanoscience

Background:

  • Particles in liquid crystals (LCs) self-assemble due to elastic interactions from molecular anisotropy.
  • Particle alignment in LCs is highly dependent on the surface director alignment of LCs on the particle surface.
  • Previous research focused on degenerate planar anchoring, limiting control over particle positioning.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the use of azimuthal surface director for precise control of particle positioning in LCs.
  • To synthesize and utilize polymeric particles with controlled surface anchoring (parallel or chiral).
  • To explore the influence of particle chirality and LC twist on particle distribution and orientation.

Main Methods:

  • Synthesis of polymeric particles with specific surface anchoring properties (parallel and chiral).
  • Dispersion of these particles in nematic 5CB liquid crystals with controlled director profiles.
  • Observation and analysis of particle positioning, distribution, and orientation under various conditions, including sedimentation.

Main Results:

  • Azimuthal surface director effectively controls and tunes particle positioning within LCs.
  • Particles with matching chirality to the LC twist distributed within the LC film.
  • Particles with opposite chirality were repelled due to elastic energy.
  • Surface anchoring significantly affected particle orientation during non-equilibrium processes like sedimentation.

Conclusions:

  • Azimuthal surface director offers a novel method for precise particle manipulation in liquid crystals.
  • Chiral interactions between particles and LCs dictate their distribution and behavior.
  • These findings pave the way for applications in sensors, separations, optics, and soft robotics leveraging chiral phenomena.