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Spectroscopy

Handedness in quick time

Nature volume 458, pages 289–290 (2009)Cite this article

The handedness of chiral molecules can be probed spectroscopically, but acquiring data can take hours, which is a problem for time-resolved studies. The latest method records such data in a flash.

Most daily encounters with chirality and chiral recognition go unnoticed, including such mundane events as putting on shoes, shaking hands with someone and admiring the helical patterns of seashells. But the concept that certain objects and interactions have an intrinsic 'handedness' permeates the entire fabric of science, and has a crucial role in diverse physical, chemical and biological processes. Of special importance for the molecular sciences are the different chemical and biochemical reactivities displayed by enantiomeric (mirror-image) compounds. Indeed, many drugs are single enantiomers; their mirror-image versions are often ineffective, or even harmful.

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Figure 1: Optical polarization and optical activity.

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  1. Patrick H. Vaccaro is in the Department of Chemistry, Yale University, 225 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8107, USA. patrick.vaccaro@yale.edu,

    Patrick H. Vaccaro

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  1. Patrick H. Vaccaro
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Vaccaro, P. Handedness in quick time. Nature 458, 289–290 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/458289a

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