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Updated: Oct 28, 2026

Coulomb Explosion Imaging as a Tool to Distinguish Between Stereoisomers
Published on: August 18, 2017
Enantiomeric excess measurements in non-volatile biomolecules using laser-based desorption photoelectron circular
Chris Sparling1, Lewis Ireland1, Ross Anderson1
1Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK. c.sparling@hw.ac.uk.
Abstract:
We report photoelectron circular dichroism (PECD) measurements on enantiomerically pure tryptophan samples using a laser-based desorption (LBD) source, revealing large forward-backward scattering asymmetries of around ±10%. Using these data as a calibration standard, we accurately quantify enantiomeric excess in prepared mixtures, demonstrating the combination of LBD and PECD as a low-cost, simple, and practical tool suitable for real-world diagnostic applications.
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