Sciencemadness Discussion Board

What is the functions of chiral synthesis?

alexboc - 28-3-2018 at 23:52

Chiral synthesis (enantioselective synthesis, also called asymmetric synthesis) is the synthesis of a compound by a method that favors the formation of a specific enantiomer or diastereomer. Can anybody explain the functions of chiral synthesis? Thanks.

Reference: https://www.bocsci.com/chiral-synthesis-and-resolution.html

[Edited on 29-3-2018 by alexboc]

elementcollector1 - 28-3-2018 at 23:54

Sounds like someone's got a homework problem.

j_sum1 - 29-3-2018 at 01:38

Entaniomers ate critical in biological systems since many biochemicals must physically interlock in order to function.

But really, why do you ask? If we knew the context that prompted the question then we could answer more specifically. Until then this looks like fishing for homework answers or circumventing personal effort.

LearnedAmateur - 29-3-2018 at 03:56

There isn’t really much to explain for it, it’s a procedure for making a single enantiomer of a chiral compound as opposed to the racemic mixture. I could give one example, thalidomide - one enantiomer provides the medicinal benefits whereas the other caused birth defects which gave the compound its infamous status hence chiral resolution is essential in this case. Like J_sum1 said, they matter for biological processes so it’s an important topic in pharmacology because many enantiomers produce varied changes in the body, to their counterparts.

PhenethylamineMachine - 29-3-2018 at 06:22

Another good pharmacological example is L-methamphetamine.


The levorotatory enantiomer of methamphetamine, L-methamphetamine, is an over the counter sympathomimetic vasoconstrictor, while the dextrorotatory enantiomer of methamphetamine is a powerful illicit euphoric stimulant.

So, in this case, one enantiomer is a useful and benign pharmaceutical, while the other is a destructive illicit substance of abuse.

Different enantiomers of chiral molecules possess different properties.