Isothermal titration calorimetry for chiral chemistry

Abstract

One of the most powerful techniques that are currently available to measure thermodynamic parameters such as enthalpy (ΔH), Gibbs free energy (ΔG), entropy changes (ΔS), and binding affinity in chemical reactions is isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). Recent advances in instrumentation have facilitated the development of ITC as a very essential analytical tool in biology and chemistry. In this article, we will focus on a review of the literature on the application of ITC for the study of chiral systems and chiral interactions. We present studies in which the ITC technique is used to study chiral interactions, for instance in chiral solutions, chiral organometallic complexes, guest-host chiral binding interactions, and biological macromolecules. Finally, we put strong emphasis on the most recent application of ITC for the study of chirality in nanosystems and at the nanoscale.

Keywords: chiral interactions; chiral nanoparticles; chiral surfaces; isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC); microcalorimetry.