Premium
Sugar‐Assisted Kinetic Resolution of Amino Acids and Amplification of Enantiomeric Excess of Organic Molecules
Author(s) -
Córdova Armando,
Sundén Henrik,
Xu Yongmei,
Ibrahem Ismail,
Zou Weibiao,
Engqvist Magnus
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.200600526
Subject(s) - homochirality , autocatalysis , enantiomeric excess , chemistry , chirality (physics) , enantiomer , biomolecule , amino acid , kinetic resolution , sugar , molecule , organic chemistry , abiogenesis , stereochemistry , enantioselective synthesis , catalysis , biochemistry , astrobiology , biology , nambu–jona lasinio model , chiral symmetry breaking , physics , quantum mechanics , quark
The origins of biological homochirality have intrigued researchers since Pasteur's discovery of the optical activity of biomolecules. Herein, we propose and demonstrate a novel alternative for the evolution of homochirality that is not based on autocatalysis and forges a direct relationship between the chirality of sugars and amino acids. This process provides a mechanism in which a racemic mixture of an amino acid can catalyze the formation of an optically active organic molecule in the presence of a sugar product of low enantiomeric excess.