Non-Covalent Isotope Effects

In this Perspective, we present examples of isotope effects that originate from noncovalent interactions, mainly hydrogen bonding, electrostatics, and confinement. They are traditionally widely used in isotopic enrichment processes, as well as in studies of mechanisms of different (bio)chemical and physical phenomena. We then show the emerging areas of their applications, mainly medical and material sciences. We stress that these emerging applications require either high enrichment or isotopic substitution, which requires the development of new effective techniques of isotopic purification.

Automated summary

In this Perspective, examples of isotope effects originating from noncovalent interactions, such as hydrogen bonding, electrostatics, and confinement, are presented. These effects have been traditionally used in isotopic enrichment processes and studying mechanisms of (bio)chemical and physical phenomena. The article also explores the emerging applications of isotope effects in medical and material sciences, highlighting the need for new effective techniques for isotopic purification.