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Nature 443, 40-41 (7 September 2006) | doi:10.1038/443040b; Published online 6 September 2006
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Organic chemistry: Catalysts break symmetry
Scott E. Denmark1
Abstract
The creation of asymmetric molecules from symmetrical precursors is a useful strategy for organic synthesis. A new catalyst can accomplish this task through a unique, symmetry-breaking reaction.
Chirality, the 'left-handed' or 'right-handed' property of objects that are mirror images of each other, is ubiquitous in the observable world — shoes, conch shells, wood screws and umbilical cords, for instance. This property extends to objects in the nanoscale dimension; nearly all molecules in nature (such as amino acids, sugars, alkaloids and terpenes) and legions of synthetic compounds are chiral.
- Scott E. Denmark is in the Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, 600 S. Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
Email: denmark@scs.uiuc.edu
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Enantioselective silyl protection of alcohols catalysed by an amino-acid-based small moleculeNature Letters to Editor (07 Sep 2006)
