Kenneth Lipkowitz of Indiana U.-Purdue U. is supported by the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Program to study enantiomeric selectivity for molecules such as those employed in chiral chromatography. Specifically, this research will examine the hypothesis that maximum chiral discrimination takes place when the binding site or chemical reactivity center is spatially coincident with the molecule's region of greatest enantiodifferentiation. A theoretical approach is used wherein regions of maximum stereoselection or stereoinduction will be calculated and then compared to computed binding sites and/or to experimentally determined recognition sites. A second, related goal of this project is to examine the relationship between chirality and enantiodiscrimination.
While chirality must exist as a precondition for stereoisomer-specific reaction chemistry, the relationship between how chiral a molecule is and its ability to induce an effect in a stereoselective manner is less well understood. This project will make that connection, and aid separations scientists in designing stationary phases for chromatography and synthetic chemists in making better chiral catalysts. The relationship between chirality and enantioselection will be firmly established, which has far reaching influences in all areas of science and technology, including medicine, materials, and related endeavors where chiral recognition is important.
