(click on photo to enlarge)
The big balls show the structure of
the molecule,
the small ones show the measured
fragmentations after explosion.
The path of these small particles is
determined by the molecular structure.
Credit: Goethe University Frankfurt
Safer drugs thanks to a new solution to a 150-year-old
chemistry problem?
Just like gloves, molecules come in so-called left-handed
and right-handed versions. Until now, however, it could be determined only with
great difficulty whether a certain molecule is right-handed or left-handed. In
medicine, this would be a big step forward because, for example, the unwanted
side effects of drugs could be avoided. In the current issue of the journal
Science, a team of researchers from Germany, Canada and Switzerland reports a
new solution to a 150-year old problem.