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Related Concept Videos

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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Chirality02:25

Chirality

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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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Chirality in Nature02:30

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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

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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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Molecules and Compounds02:38

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Atoms and Molecules
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Microtubule Associated Proteins (MAPs)01:42

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Microtubule function and architecture are regulated by an array of specialized proteins called microtubule-associated proteins or MAPs. These proteins are widespread across different organisms and have conserved protein motifs, like the multi-TOG domain for tubulin binding found in the CLASP family of MAPs. Some MAPs are lineage-specific based on their conserved domains. Their functions depend upon the cytoskeletal architecture and cell type they are located within. In-plant cells, a specific...
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Updated: Jan 22, 2026

Nanomanipulation of Single RNA Molecules by Optical Tweezers
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Mapping Optical Chirality with Single Fluorescent Molecules.

Daniel Marx1, Ivan Gligonov1, David Malsbenden2

  • 1III. Institute of Physics-Biophysics, Georg August University, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.

Nano Letters
|January 20, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Single terrylene diimide molecules act as nanoscale probes to map optical fields. This reveals the 3D chiral and vectorial structure of light, aiding nanophotonics research.

Keywords:
light−matter interactionnanophotonicsoptical chiralitypolarization microscopysingle-molecule fluorescencevectorial light fields

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Single Molecule Fluorescence Microscopy on Planar Supported Bilayers
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Area of Science:

  • Nanophotonics and Light-Matter Interactions
  • Molecular Spectroscopy
  • Optical Field Characterization

Background:

  • Single fluorescent molecules serve as ideal point dipoles for nanoscale light-matter interaction studies.
  • Understanding the vectorial and chiral properties of focused light is crucial for advanced optical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To utilize single terrylene diimide molecules as nanoprobes for mapping the 3D chiral and vectorial structure of tightly focused optical fields.
  • To establish a method for quantitative characterization of optical chirality at the nanoscale.

Main Methods:

  • Immobilizing individual terrylene diimide molecules.
  • Scanning the excitation focus under linear and circular polarization.
  • Acquiring 3D fluorescence excitation maps.
  • Comparing experimental data with a vectorial diffraction model.

Main Results:

  • Successfully generated 3D fluorescence excitation maps visualizing the handedness and symmetry of circularly polarized light.
  • Demonstrated quantitative agreement between experimental maps and theoretical predictions.
  • Enabled accurate determination of molecular orientations and local optical field structure.

Conclusions:

  • Single molecules are effective quantitative nanoprobes for optical chirality.
  • This technique offers new strategies for characterizing complex light fields and polarization effects.
  • The method is applicable to nanophotonic, plasmonic, and anisotropic materials.