Chiral Materials: Progress, Applications, and Prospects

Chirality is a universal phenomenon in molecular and biological systems, denoting an asymmetric configurational property where an object cannot be superimposed onto its mirror image by any kind of translation or rotation, which is ubiquitous on the scale from neutrinos to spiral galaxies. Chirality plays a very important role in the life system. Many biological molecules in the life body show chirality, such as the codebook of the earth's biological diversity-DNA, nucleic acid, etc. Intriguingly, living organisms hierarchically consist of homochiral building blocks, for example, l-amino acids and d-sugars with unknown reason. When molecules with chirality interact with these chiral factors, only one conformation favors the positive development of life, that is, the chiral host environment can only selectively interact with chiral molecules of one of the conformations. The differences in chiral interactions are often manifested by chiral recognition, mutual matching, and interactions with chiral molecules, which means that the stereoselectivity of chiral molecules can produce changes in pharmacodynamics and pathology. Here, the latest investigations are summarized including the construction and applications of chiral materials based on natural small molecules as chiral source, natural biomacromolecules as chiral sources, and the material synthesized by design as a chiral source.

Automated summary

Chirality is a universal phenomenon that exists in molecular and biological systems, referring to an asymmetric configurational property where an object cannot be superimposed onto its mirror image by any kind of translation or rotation. Chirality plays a crucial role in the life system, with many biological molecules exhibiting chirality. Living organisms are composed of homochiral building blocks, such as L-amino acids and D-sugars, for unknown reasons. When molecules with chirality interact with these chiral factors, only one conformation favors the positive development of life, leading to changes in pharmacodynamics and pathology. This article summarizes the latest research on the construction and applications of chiral materials based on natural small molecules, natural biomacromolecules, and designed materials as chiral sources.