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Related Concept Videos

Chirality02:25

Chirality

29.0K
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...
29.0K
Chirality in Nature02:30

Chirality in Nature

16.5K
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.
16.5K
Stereoisomerism of Cyclic Compounds02:33

Stereoisomerism of Cyclic Compounds

10.9K
In this lesson, we delve into the role of ring conformation and its stability, which determines the spatial arrangement and, consequently, the molecular symmetry and stereoisomerism of cyclic compounds. 1,2-Dimethylcyclohexane is used as a case study to evaluate the possible number of stereoisomers. Here, given the multiple (n = 2) chiral centers, there are 2n = 4 possible configurations that lack a plane of symmetry, as the ring skeleton exists in a non-planar chair conformation. In addition,...
10.9K
Molecules with Multiple Chiral Centers02:25

Molecules with Multiple Chiral Centers

14.8K
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...
14.8K
Chirality at Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur02:30

Chirality at Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur

6.8K
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...
6.8K
Prochirality02:05

Prochirality

4.8K
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...
4.8K

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 13, 2026

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality
08:07

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality

Published on: March 11, 2022

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Single-cell chiral symmetry breaking under confinement.

Sebastián Echeverría-Alar, Badri Narayanan Narasimhan, Stephanie I Fraley

    Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
    |January 9, 2026
    PubMed
    Summary
    This summary is machine-generated.

    Single cells confined by the extracellular matrix can break chiral symmetry and rotate. A cellular phase field model reveals confinement strength dictates rotational behavior, with weak confinement enabling persistent motion via mechanochemical feedback.

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    Isolation and Fluorescence Imaging for Single-particle Reconstruction of Chlamydomonas Centrioles
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    Area of Science:

    • * Biophysics and soft matter physics.
    • * Cellular dynamics and mechanobiology.

    Background:

    • * Single cells confined by the extracellular matrix can exhibit persistent rotational motion.
    • * The physical mechanisms driving this chiral symmetry breaking are not fully understood.
    • * Understanding these mechanisms is crucial for fields like developmental biology and tissue engineering.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • * To elucidate the physical mechanisms of single-cell chiral symmetry breaking under confinement.
    • * To develop a predictive model for cell rotational dynamics based on confinement strength.
    • * To explore the role of mechanochemical feedback in enabling coherent cell rotation.

    Main Methods:

    • * Development of a cellular phase field model coupling cell deformation, polarization, and confinement.
    • * Identification of confinement strength as a bifurcation parameter.
    • * Application of a semi-Markovian renewal process framework for intermediate confinement.
    • * Analytical formalization of mechanochemical feedback using Kramers escape theory.
    • * Experimental validation using epithelial MCF10A cells in Matrigel.

    Main Results:

    • * Three distinct regimes of cell behavior identified based on confinement strength: rotation prevention, stochastic chiral transitions, and persistent rotation.
    • * A novel mechanochemical feedback mechanism identified for coherent rotation in weak confinement.
    • * Experimental data validated model predictions for the weak confinement regime.
    • * Stochastic dynamics characterized by dwell time statistics and transition probabilities.

    Conclusions:

    • * Confinement strength is a critical factor controlling single-cell chiral symmetry breaking and rotational motion.
    • * Mechanochemical feedback plays a key role in enabling coordinated cell rotation despite internal noise.
    • * The developed theoretical framework provides insights into controlling single-cell dynamics by modulating the extracellular matrix.