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.

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...

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...

¹H NMR Chemical Shift Equivalence: Enantiotopic and Diastereotopic Protons

¹H NMR Chemical Shift Equivalence: Enantiotopic and Diastereotopic Protons

Replacing each alpha-hydrogen in chloroethane by bromine (or a different functional group) yields a pair of enantiomers. Such protons are called prochiral or enantiotopic and are related by a mirror plane. Enantiotopic protons are chemically equivalent in an achiral environment. Because most proton NMR spectra are recorded using achiral solvents, enantiotopic hydrogens yield a single signal.
In chiral compounds such as 2-butanol, replacing the methylene hydrogens at C3 produces a pair of...

Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Magnetic Moment

Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Magnetic Moment

All atomic nuclei are positively charged. When they have a nonzero spin, they behave like rotating charges. As a consequence of their charge and spin, these nuclei generate a magnetic field (B). This, in turn, gives rise to a magnetic moment (μ), which is randomly oriented in the absence of an external magnetic field. When an external magnetic field (B0) is applied, the magnetic moment vectors can align with the field or against it in 2 + 1 orientations. A hydrogen nucleus, which is just a...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Noninvasive Risk Stratification Based on Renal Tubular Injury Phenotypes: A Deep Learning Study for Predicting Vesicoureteral Reflux in Children.

Journal of cellular and molecular medicine·2026

Same author

Bacteria-driven bio-electroactive sterilization.

Chemical science·2025

Same author

Graphene rolls with tunable chirality.

Nature materials·2025

Same author

Enantiomer-Dependent Supramolecular Antibacterial Therapy for Drug-Resistant Bacterial Keratitis.

Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids·2025

Same author

Chirality Interplay of Peptide and Saccharide on Glycopeptide Self-Assembly.

Nano letters·2025

Same author

Achiral and chiral ligands synergistically harness chiral self-assembly of inorganics.

Science advances·2024

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 28, 2025

Fabrication Procedures and Birefringence Measurements for Designing Magnetically Responsive Lanthanide Ion Chelating Phospholipid Assemblies

Fabrication Procedures and Birefringence Measurements for Designing Magnetically Responsive Lanthanide Ion Chelating Phospholipid Assemblies

Published on: January 3, 2018

True and False Chirality in Chiral Magnetic Nanoparticles.

Chao Sun¹, Xueyan Zhang¹, Yuyu Xie¹

¹Wenzhou Key Laboratory of Biophysics, Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325000, P. R. China.

The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters

|April 24, 2024

Summary

This study introduces a method to distinguish true from false chirality in magnetic nanoparticles using a gel matrix. This technique helps clarify chirality

More Related Videos

Engineering Molecular Recognition with Bio-mimetic Polymers on Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Engineering Molecular Recognition with Bio-mimetic Polymers on Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Published on: January 10, 2017

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality

Published on: March 11, 2022

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 28, 2025

Fabrication Procedures and Birefringence Measurements for Designing Magnetically Responsive Lanthanide Ion Chelating Phospholipid Assemblies

Fabrication Procedures and Birefringence Measurements for Designing Magnetically Responsive Lanthanide Ion Chelating Phospholipid Assemblies

Published on: January 3, 2018

Engineering Molecular Recognition with Bio-mimetic Polymers on Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Engineering Molecular Recognition with Bio-mimetic Polymers on Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Published on: January 10, 2017

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality

Published on: March 11, 2022

Area of Science:

Materials Science
Nanotechnology
Optics

Background:

Chirality is crucial for advanced materials, but magnetic fields can induce false optical activity, complicating analysis.
Distinguishing true from false chirality is vital for accurate material design and application.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a simple method for uncovering true and false chirality in chiral ferrimagnetic nanoparticles (FNPs).
To investigate the influence of local magnetic fields on chirality in FNPs.

Main Methods:

Utilizing a gel as a rigid frame to immobilize chiral ferrimagnetic nanoparticles (FNPs).
Adjusting the remnant local magnetic field of the FNP gel using external magnetic fields or varying FNP concentration.
Detecting induced magnetic circularly polarized luminescence to assess chirality.

Main Results:

A straightforward method was established to differentiate true and false chirality in chiral FNPs.
The local magnetic field of the FNP gel was successfully modulated.
Potential applications in induced magnetic circularly polarized luminescence were demonstrated.

Conclusions:

This work offers significant insights into chirality in magnetic nanosystems.
A strategy for creating novel optical elements with tunable local magnetic fields was presented.