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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 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 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...

Properties of Enantiomers and Optical Activity

Properties of Enantiomers and Optical Activity

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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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 6, 2025

Coulomb Explosion Imaging as a Tool to Distinguish Between Stereoisomers

Coulomb Explosion Imaging as a Tool to Distinguish Between Stereoisomers

Published on: August 18, 2017

Surface Chirality Influences Molecular Rotation upon Desorption.

Sabine C Matysik¹, David J Wales¹, Stephen J Jenkins¹

¹Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom.

Physical Review Letters

|May 7, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Chiral surfaces influence molecular rotation during desorption. Molecules desorbing from chiral surfaces exhibit greater angular momentum and a preferred rotation direction, offering new insights into surface interactions.

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Last Updated: Nov 6, 2025

Coulomb Explosion Imaging as a Tool to Distinguish Between Stereoisomers

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Published on: August 18, 2017

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality

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Analysis of Complex Molecules and Their Reactions on Surfaces by Means of Cluster-Induced Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Analysis of Complex Molecules and Their Reactions on Surfaces by Means of Cluster-Induced Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Published on: March 1, 2020

Area of Science:

Surface science
Physical chemistry
Materials science

Background:

Chiral surfaces are crucial for enantioselective processes.
Understanding dynamic interactions between chiral surfaces and adsorbates is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate the impact of chiral surfaces on the rotational dynamics of desorbing molecules.
Provide insights into enantioselective adsorption and desorption mechanisms.

Main Methods:

Utilized first-principles molecular dynamics simulations.
Modeled formic acid desorption from chiral Cu{531} and achiral Cu{110} surfaces.

Main Results:

Molecules desorbing from chiral surfaces showed significantly enhanced and directed angular momentum.
A distinct preference for a specific sense of rotation was observed for desorption from chiral surfaces.

Conclusions:

Chiral surfaces impart a preferred rotational direction to desorbing molecules.
This study enhances understanding of molecular behavior at chiral interfaces and its implications for enantioselective applications.