enantiomer

Moreover, the experiments showed that the selection -- the preference for one or the other enantiomer -- not only occurs during the binding on the cobalt islands, but already beforehand.

Many biological targets for pharmaceuticals look like right-handed gloves to molecules — only one enantiomer of a molecule will fit into them.

The development of methods for synthesizing chiral molecules asymmetrically — predominantly as a single enantiomer — is therefore one of the most important goals in organic and medicinal chemistry.

One of these is more effective as a drug than the other, but is difficult to synthesize as a single enantiomer.

Such compounds are known as enantiomers - if the pharmaceutically-effective enantiomer becomes its mirror image, this can prevent certain drugs from binding in people's bodies.