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(R)-alanine
R refers to the Latin word rectus, meaning
right. |
(S)-alanine
S refers to the Latin word sinister, meaning
left. |
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When alanine is
produced in a laboratory under normal conditions, a mixture
is obtained, half of which consists of (R)-alanine
and half of (S)-alanine.
In an asymmetric synthesis an
excess of one of these forms is produced. To achieve
this, in a catalytic way - that is, with the aid of
a molecule that speeds up the reaction without being
consumed itself - is what this year's Nobel Laureate's have
accomplished.
Since the cells' actors are chiral,
many pharmaceutical drugs also have to be chiral. Thus a
flourishing pharmaceutical industry has grown up in the
wake of the Laureates' achievements.
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