Chirality

1 Parity Violation in Atomic Physics.- 1.1 Introduction.- 1.2 Parity.- 1.3 Elementary Particles and Forces.- 1.4 Parity-Violating Effects in Atoms.- 1.5 References.- 2 Theories on the Origin of Biomolecular Homochirality.- 2.1 Introduction.- 2.2 Observability of Chiral Molecular Structures.- 2.3 Kinetic Models for Unstable Equilibrium.- 2.4 Kinetic Models with Instrinsic Asymmetry.- 2.5 Parity-Violating Energy Differences Between Enantiomers.- 2.6 Homochirality from Stochastic Equations.- 2.7 References.- 3 Chirality and Group Theory.- 3.1 Introduction.- 3.2 The Principle of Pairwise Interactions.- 3.3 The Theory of Chirality Functions.- 3.4 The Approximation Methods.- 3.5 Determining the Lowest-Degree Chirality Polynomials.- 3.6 Qualitative Completeness and Supercompleteness.- 3.7 Counting Enantiomeric Pairs.- 3.8 References.- 4 Helicity of Molecules - Different Definitions and Application to Circular Dichroism.- 4.1 Introduction.- 4.2 The Ideal Finite Helix.- 4.3 Real Molecules or Parts of Them, Fractions of a Helix.- 4.4 Rules.- 4.5 Some Applications.- 4.6 Summary.- 4.7 References.- 5 Anomalous Dispersion of X-Rays and the Determination of the Handedness of Chiral Molecules.- 5.1 Introduction.- 5.2 "Normal" X-Ray Diffraction.- 5.3 Past, Presence and Future Use of Anomalous Scattering.- 5.4 References.- 6 Chirality in Organic Synthesis - The Use of Biocatalysts.- 6.1 Chirality in Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry.- 6.2 Biocatalysts in Organic Chemistry - General Remarks.- 6.3 Enzymes.- 6.4 Use of Whole Cell Systems.- 6.5 Application of Biocatalytic Hydrolysis.- 6.6 Reduction and Oxidation Using Biocatalysts.- 6.7 Further Applications.- 6.8 Special Techniques and Novel Developments.- 6.9 Comparison of Methods and Outlook.- 6.10 References.- 7 Preparation ofHomochiral Organic Compounds.- 7.1 Introduction.- 7.2 Separation Techniques.- 7.3 Homochiral Building Blocks from Natural Products.- 7.4 Auxiliary Modified Substrates.- 7.5 Homochiral Reagents.- 7.6 Homochiral

The phenomenon of chirality occurs in many disciplines of natural sciences, such as elementary particle physics, chemistry of molecules, biopolymers and crystals, pharmacology, biology (snails, winding plants), and medicine (handedness). This book gives for the first time an interdisciplinary comprehensive treatment of chirality. Ten well-known scientists describe the present state of the art in different fields in introductory review articles without going into detail.