tükörpár

A tükörpár, sometimes translated as mirror pair, refers to a pair of molecules that are non-superimposable mirror images of each other. This relationship is a fundamental concept in stereochemistry, a subdiscipline of chemistry that studies the three-dimensional arrangement of atoms in molecules. Molecules that exist as mirror pairs are called enantiomers.

The chirality, or "handedness," of a molecule is what allows it to have a mirror image that is not identical to itself. This typically arises when a molecule contains a chiral center, most commonly a carbon atom bonded to four different atoms or groups. When such a molecule is reflected in a mirror, the resulting image will have a different spatial arrangement of these groups compared to the original molecule. If this reflected image cannot be rotated or manipulated to perfectly align with the original, then the two are enantiomers.

Enantiomers share many identical physical properties, such as melting point, boiling point, and solubility. However, they differ in their interaction with other chiral entities. This is particularly significant in biological systems, where enzymes and receptors are often chiral. As a result, one enantiomer of a chiral drug might be therapeutically effective, while its mirror image could be inactive or even toxic. The study of tükörpár is therefore crucial in fields like pharmacology, biochemistry, and organic chemistry.