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Stereochemistry |
| When a carbon atom has four different
atoms attached to it, there is two possible ways the atoms can sit. The
two forms are mirror images. Often only one of the mirror forms - stereoisomers
- is biologically active. In nature only one of the stereoisomers is produced
by enzymes, whereas when a chemist carries out a chemical reaction both
forms will be formed.
Secondary metabolites often have several chiral (stereoisomer) carbon atoms. Paclitaxel for example has 10 chiral centres, theoretically giving 1024 different forms! |
