Chirality in 'real-time'
Thursday, January 10, 2019 - 16:20
in Physics & Chemistry
Distinguishing between left-handed and right-handed ('chiral') molecules is crucial in chemistry and the life sciences, and is commonly done using a method called circular dichroism. However, during biochemical reactions the chiral character of molecules may change. Scientists have for the first time developed a method that uses ultrashort deep-ultraviolet pulses to accurately probe such changes in real-time in (bio)molecular systems.