Optical Sensor Exhibits if Molecules are Left Handed or Right Handed

Optical Sensor Exhibits if Molecules are Left Handed or Right Handed. Per cemag.us, you should think of molecules as having little hands. They are not identical, but they serve almost indistinguishable functions. You can grip, pinch, punch and open your hands, regardless of whether you use your left or right hand. But when you get to some functions, such as writing, it matters if you are right-handed or left-handed. Scientists have struggled to determine if molecules have unique left- or right-hand functions because their physical attributes such as length, weight, density and elasticity appear to be identical.

Optical Sensor Determines if Molecules are Left- or Right-Handed

A University of Central Florida team has designed a nanostructured optical sensor that for the first time can efficiently detect molecular chirality – a property of molecular spatial twist that defines its biochemical properties.
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