#chiralpedia

Levofloxacin

Levofloxacin is a third generation fluoroquinolone that is widely used in the treatment of mild-to-moderate respiratory and urinary tract infections due to sensitive organisms.  Levofloxacin is an antibacterial prescription medicine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of certain bacterial infections, such as community-acquired pneumonia, acute worsening of chronic bronchitis, anthrax, urinary tract infections, acute sinus infections, and others. Chirality and biological activity Levofloxacin, the S-enantiomer of the previously marketed …

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Ascorbic acid

L-(+)-Ascorbic Acid is another old chiral drug from natural source. It is a water-soluble vitamin (Vitamin C). Ascorbic acid is a potent reducing and antioxidant agent that functions in fighting bacterial infections, in detoxifying reactions, and in the formation of collagen in fibrous tissue, teeth, bones, connective tissue, skin, and capillaries. Found in citrus and other fruits, and in vegetables, Vitamin C cannot be produced or stored by humans and must be obtained in the …

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Quinine

Most fascinating old chiral drug, from historical point of view, is Quinine. It is known that by early 1600s quinine was being used by South American natives, in Peru, Ecuador, as a crude preparation from the bark of the Cinchona tree for the treatment of malaria. Chirality and biological activity Quinine contains two major fused ring systems: aromatic quinoline and bicyclic quiniclidine. The molecule contains four stereogenic carbon centers at C-3, C-4, C-8 and C-9, respectively …

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Morphine

Many medicinal agents important to life are combinations of mirror-image twins called chiral compounds. These twins may look very similar, yet their biological makeup might differ significantly. In other words, the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles of the individual enantiomers that make up a racemic chiral medication might drastically vary. The Chiral Molecule of the Week #cMOTW is an effort to highlight significant chiral compounds with therapeutic value. Follow us for more …… Nature is not even …

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Fischer Projection: hassle free way to depict a stereoformula in 2D projection 

One of the major problems in organic chemistry is the representation of three-dimensional structures in a two-dimensional media (viz. sheet of paper, blackboard, etc.). Chemists sometimes represent structures for chiral molecules with two-dimensional formulas called Fischer projection formulas. These two-dimensional formulas are a quick way to show three dimensions without the hassle of having to draw 3-D. The Fischer projection, devised by the carbohydrate chemist Emil Fischer in 1891. This projection formula is a technique …

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