Chirality of living systems: a helping hand from crystals and oligopeptides

Abstract

Left-right asymmetry is ubiquitous in nature. Recent studies reveal changes in the energy and growth rate of crystal surfaces to which D or L amino acids bind, with the binding itself being dictated by stereochemical matching. Likewise, oligomerization of amino acids appears to be a chiroselective process that enables the propagation of sequences with defined handedness.[[For a definition of chiroselective self-assembly, see: M. Bolli, R. Micura, A. Eschenmoser, Chem. Biol. 1997, 4, 309-320.]] These results, along with related findings on symmetry breaking and further amplification of asymmetry at a supramolecular level, constitute new insights into the origin of homochirality in living species.