Enantiomeería

Enantiomería is a property of molecules where two stereoisomers, called enantiomers, are non-superimposable mirror images of each other. This occurs when a molecule contains at least one chiral center, typically a carbon atom bonded to four different substituents. Just as a left hand is a mirror image of a right hand but cannot be placed on top of it perfectly, enantiomers have identical chemical formulas and connectivity but differ in their three-dimensional arrangement of atoms.

The key characteristic of enantiomers is their interaction with plane-polarized light. One enantiomer will rotate plane-polarized light in a clockwise direction (dextrorotatory, denoted by +), while the other enantiomer will rotate it in an equal and opposite counterclockwise direction (levorotatory, denoted by -). A mixture containing equal amounts of both enantiomers is called a racemic mixture, which is optically inactive because the rotations cancel each other out.

In biological systems, enantiomers can exhibit significantly different properties. Enzymes and receptors in living organisms are often chiral themselves, meaning they can distinguish between enantiomers. This can lead to one enantiomer being biologically active or having a different effect than its mirror image. For example, one enantiomer of a drug might be therapeutic, while the other is inactive or even toxic. The synthesis and separation of specific enantiomers are therefore crucial in pharmaceuticals and other fields where stereochemistry plays a vital role.