Enantioselective crystallization of histidine on chiral self-assembled films of cysteine

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2007 Jun 15;310(2):653-60. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2007.02.028. Epub 2007 Apr 6.

Abstract

In this paper, the preparation and use of chiral surfaces derived from enantiomerically pure crystals of amino acids are described. For this purpose, a self-assembly process to grow thin chiral films of (+)-L- or (-)-D-cysteine on gold surfaces was chosen. These chiral films were utilized as crystallization catalysts in the crystallization of enantiomers from solutions. To demonstrate the chiral discrimination power of the chiral surfaces in crystallization processes, the crystallization of racemic histidine onto the chiral films was investigated. Our study demonstrates the potential application of chiral films to control chirality throughout crystallization, where one enantiomer crystallizes onto the chiral surfaces with relative high enantiomeric excess. In addition, crystallization of pure histidine enantiomers onto chiral films results in strong crystal morphology modification with preferred orientation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Crystallization
  • Cysteine / chemistry*
  • Histidine / chemistry*
  • Membranes, Artificial*
  • Stereoisomerism

Substances

  • Membranes, Artificial
  • Histidine
  • Cysteine