Chiral Systems Chemistry

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Chiral Systems Chemistry Louis Pasteur is best known for the process of `pasteurization', typically associated with milk purification, but Pasteur's contribution to Chemistry is probably more far reaching. In 1848, Pasteur separated mirror image crystals of sodium ammonium tartrate tetrahydrate based solely on visual inspection, and in the process inaugurated the intriguing topic of molecular asymmetry. Chirality, or handedness, is part of our everyday lives and its importance is particularly evident in the pharmaceutical industry, the agrochemical industry, and the food industry. The global market for chiral technology-enabling products is projected to reach $9.1 billion by 2022. Chiral preference for one handedness of biomolecules is a characteristic of living systems, but the origin of biological homochirality is one of the outstanding mysteries facing scientists, where a precise explanation has yet to be found. `Systems Chemistry' can be broadly defined as, `the emergence of order from chaos'. Conglomerate crystallization of achiral molecules into chiral crystals provides a unique opportunity to investigate `chiral systems chemistry'. Experiments in our lab have shown that under attrition conditions in a process called `Viedma ripening', a wide variety of conglomerate crystals of achiral molecules can be reliably driven to homochirality. The evolution of our research will involve delving deeper into `chiral systems chemistry' to understand the hierarchical nature of chiral crystallization and self-assembly. Our multi-tiered approach encompasses: (i) the implementation of modern mechanochemical techniques to facilitate Viedma ripening, (ii) the investigation of enantiomer-specific oriented attachment (ESOA), (iii) the exploration of chiral crystallization and helical morphogenesis in gels and (iv) the examination of mirror symmetry breaking and chiral amplification in supramolecular systems. Our research program is not only of critical importance for the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries, but also addresses the profound question as to the origins of biological homochirality, `an essential molecular characteristic of terrestrial life'. Furthermore, our studies on crystallization from gels may contribute to a better understanding of biomineralization, including pathological deposition of crystals (i.e. crystal deposition diseases).