kiralitási

Kiralitás is a property of geometric objects, most commonly molecules, where an object is non-superimposable on its mirror image. This means that if you hold an object and its mirror image up to each other, they will not match perfectly, much like your left and right hands are mirror images but cannot be perfectly superimposed.

In chemistry, kiralitás is particularly important. Chiral molecules exist as a pair of enantiomers, which are stereoisomers that are non-superimposable mirror images of each other. Enantiomers have identical physical properties such as melting point and boiling point, but they can differ significantly in their interaction with other chiral substances, including biological molecules like enzymes and receptors. This difference in biological activity is crucial in pharmacology, as one enantiomer of a drug may be therapeutically effective while the other is inactive or even harmful.

The term "kiralitás" comes from the Greek word "cheir," meaning "hand." Many everyday objects exhibit kiralitás, such as gloves, shoes, and screws. In crystallography, a chiral crystal structure will not possess certain symmetry elements, such as a center of inversion or a mirror plane. The study and understanding of kiralitás are fundamental to fields ranging from organic chemistry and biochemistry to materials science and physics.