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. The...

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...

Three-Dimensional Microscopy in Microbiology

Three-Dimensional Microscopy in Microbiology

Three-dimensional imaging techniques are essential in cell biology, allowing researchers to visualize intricate cellular structures with high resolution. Two prominent methods, Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy (DIC) and Confocal Scanning Laser Microscopy (CSLM), provide distinct advantages for imaging live and thick specimens, respectively.Differential Interference Contrast MicroscopyDIC microscopy enhances contrast in transparent, unstained samples by converting phase...

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...

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...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Recent Progress on Dynamically Tunable Multispectral Stealth Materials.

Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)·2026

Same author

Sustainable Synthesis of Ammonium Nitrate From Air and Water via Tandem Plasma-Electrolyzer System.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026

Same author

Ultrastable Non-Noble-Metal Oxygen Evolution Electrocatalyst for Industrial-Level Water Electrolysis.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026

Same author

Fluorine-Doped RuO<sub>2</sub> Anchored on TiO<sub>2</sub> via Proton-Assisted Adsorption Evolution for Efficient and Stable Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Acid.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026

Same author

Controlling Photocatalytic Methane Conversion Pathways: Challenges and Future Directions.

ACS central science·2026

Same author

Customized O─O Radical Coupling Route on High-Density Fe─N─C Catalysts for Stable Industrial-Scale Water Oxidation.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 13, 2026

Alternating Magnetic Field-Responsive Hybrid Gelatin Microgels for Controlled Drug Release

Alternating Magnetic Field-Responsive Hybrid Gelatin Microgels for Controlled Drug Release

Published on: February 13, 2016

Reversible three-dimensional chirality continuum enabled by luminomagnetic superstructure in gel.

Ki-Jae Jeong^1,2, Lulu Zhang¹, Fulin Jia¹

¹CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, P. R. China.

Nature Communications

|May 11, 2026

Summary

Scientists developed a new method to create reversible 3D chiral materials. This breakthrough allows continuous tuning of chirality for advanced optical and magnetic applications.

More Related Videos

Multimodal Nonlinear Hyperspectral Chemical Imaging Using Line-Scanning Vibrational Sum-Frequency Generation Microscopy

Multimodal Nonlinear Hyperspectral Chemical Imaging Using Line-Scanning Vibrational Sum-Frequency Generation Microscopy

Published on: December 1, 2023

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

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 13, 2026

Alternating Magnetic Field-Responsive Hybrid Gelatin Microgels for Controlled Drug Release

Alternating Magnetic Field-Responsive Hybrid Gelatin Microgels for Controlled Drug Release

Published on: February 13, 2016

Multimodal Nonlinear Hyperspectral Chemical Imaging Using Line-Scanning Vibrational Sum-Frequency Generation Microscopy

Multimodal Nonlinear Hyperspectral Chemical Imaging Using Line-Scanning Vibrational Sum-Frequency Generation Microscopy

Published on: December 1, 2023

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

Area of Science:

Materials Science
Nanotechnology
Optics

Background:

Chirality continuum is vital for fundamental theories and functional materials.
Achieving reversible 3D chirality has been a significant challenge due to nanoscale accuracy limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

To introduce a novel strategy for creating a reversible chirality continuum in solid-state materials.
To enable continuous and tunable control over chiroptical properties.

Main Methods:

Utilized luminomagnetic nanoparticles (LMNPs) self-assembled into achiral nematic superstructures under a magnetic field.
Integrated these superstructures within elastomers to form luminomagnetic gels (LMGs).
Applied macroscopic torsion to LMGs to induce a transition to a chiral nematic phase.

Main Results:

Demonstrated a transition from achiral to chiral nematic phase in LMGs via mechanical torsion.
Achieved continuous and reversible tuning of chirality between left- and right-handed states.
Showcased robust and reversible circularly polarized luminescence, tunable by applied torque.

Conclusions:

Developed a modular, solid-state platform for reversible chirality continuum.
The method allows bulk mechanical deformation to control nanoscale structural reconfiguration and chiral ordering.
Opens new possibilities for polarization engineering and advanced chiroptical technologies.