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Updated: May 12, 2026

Unraveling Entropic Rate Acceleration Induced by Solvent Dynamics in Membrane Enzymes
Published on: January 16, 2016
Toward Unraveling Solvent-Induced Chirality at the Solid-Liquid Interface
Sven Bernaerts1,2, Andrea Minoia3, Jie Zhang1,2
1KU Leuven, Department of Chemistry, Division of Molecular Imaging and Photonics, Celestijnenlaan 200F, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
Abstract:
Chiral induction by the solvent phase offers a promising route to achieve homochirality in self-assembled molecular networks. In this work, we examine solvent-driven chiral induction at the solid-liquid interface, where an enantiopure solvent biases the handedness of two-dimensional (2D) networks formed by achiral molecules physisorbed on the basal plane of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite. Using scanning tunneling microscopy at the liquid-solid interface, we visualize the 2D organization of the achiral monomer 10,12-pentacosadiynoic acid in chiral liquid environments. We compare the induction efficiencies of several enantiopure citronellyl-derived solvents that differ in their capacities for specific solute-solvent interactions. Complementary molecular dynamics simulations provide molecular-level insight into the possible mechanisms of solvent-mediated chiral induction.
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