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enantiomer

 
Dictionary: en·an·ti·o·mer   (ĭ-năn'tē-ə-mər) pronunciation
 
n.

See enantiomorph.

[Greek enantios, opposite + –MER(E).]

enantiomeric en·an'ti·o·mer'ic (-mĕr'ĭk) adj.
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WordNet: enantiomer
 
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: either one of a pair of compounds (crystals or molecules) that are mirror images on each other but are not identical
  Synonym: enantiomorph


 
Wikipedia: Enantiomer
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Nonsuperposable mirror images

 (S) and (R)-2-Bromobutanes

In chemistry, an enantiomer (pronounced /ɨˈnæntɪ.ɵmər/; from the Greek ἐνάντιος, opposite, and μέρος, part or portion) is one of two stereoisomers that are non-superposable complete mirror images of each other, much as one's left and right hands are "the same" but opposite. Enantiopure compounds refer to a sample having within the limits of detection, molecules of only one chirality.[1]

Enantiomers have, when present in a symmetric environment, identical chemical and physical properties except for their ability to rotate plane-polarized light (+/-) by equal amounts but in opposite directions. A mixture of equal parts of an optically active isomer and its enantiomer is termed racemic and has a net rotation of plane-polarized light of zero.

Enantiomers of each other often do have different chemical properties related to other substances that are also enantiomers. Since many molecules in the bodies of living beings are enantiomers themselves, there is often a marked difference in the effects of two symmetrical enantiomers on living beings, including human beings.

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Enantioselective preparations

There are two main strategies for the preparation of enantiopure compounds. The first is known as chiral resolution. This method involves preparing the compound in racemic form, and separating it into its isomers. In his pioneering work, Louis Pasteur was able to isolate the isomers of tartaric acid because they crystallize from solution as crystals each with a different symmetry. A less common method is by enantiomer self-disproportionation.

The second strategy is asymmetric synthesis: the use of various techniques to prepare the desired compound in high enantiomeric excess. Techniques encompassed include the use of chiral starting materials (chiral pool synthesis), the use of chiral auxiliaries and chiral catalysts, and the application of asymmetric induction. The use of enzymes (biocatalysis) may also produce the desired compound.

Enantioconvergent synthesis is the synthesis of one enantiomer from a racemic precursor molecule utilizing both enantiomers. Thus, the two enantiomers of the reactant produce a single enantiomer of product.

Enantiopure medications

Advances in industrial chemical processes have made it economical for pharmaceutical manufacturers to take drugs that were originally marketed as a racemic mixture and market the individual enantiomers, each of which may have unique properties.

See also

References


 
Best of the Web: enantiomer
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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Enantiomer" Read more