SPECTRAL SIGNATURES OF CHIRALITY AND CHIRALITY RECOGNITION

如果一个分子的镜像不能叠加到它自己身上，那么它就是手性的，或者说表现出“惯用手”。如果不是因为一个重要的事实，对手性和手性识别的研究将是一次纯粹的科学冒险：生物体产生的许多分子都表现出特定的惯用手。当与生物体中预期受体相匹配的一个镜像处于活动状态时，另一个镜像可能处于非活动状态或可能造成严重伤害。然而，由于镜像在许多方面都是如此相似，因此在评估和寻找这些影响的解决方案方面存在重大挑战！我的研究计划致力于通过开发1)快速可靠的手性测定方法和2)分子水平上严格的手性识别模型来为这些挑战的两个主要方面提供答案。

A molecule is chiral, or said to exhibit "handedness", if its mirror image cannot be superimposed onto itself. Research into chirality and chirality recognition would be a pure scientific adventure if not for this important fact: many of the molecules produced by organisms exhibit a specific handedness. While one mirror image that fits the intended receptor in the organism is active, the other one may be inactive or may cause severe harm. There are, however, significant challenges in evaluating and finding solutions to these implications since the mirror images are so similar in many ways! My research program is dedicated to provide answers to two main aspects of these challenges through developments of 1) fast reliable methods for chirality determination and 2) rigorous chirality recognition models at the molecular level.