Articles on Stereoisomers

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Henri Kagan of France and Kenso Soai from Japan won the 2026 Nobel Prize in chemistry for their work on chiral molecules. Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images

A molecule’s ‘handedness’ can determine whether it’s an effective drug – 4 examples of pharmaceuticals where chirality matters

Cedric Schaack, Wake Forest University and Mallory Green, Wake Forest University

The 2026 Nobel Prize in chemistry gave a hand to handed molecules – and the processes chemists use to create them.
Some molecules have ‘mirror images,’ and while one form can be helpful, the other can be harmful. BSIP/UIG Via Getty Images

Many drugs have mirror chemical structures, one helpful and the other harmful – a Nobel‑winning discovery allows chemists to make either on demand

Sajish Mathew, University of Maryland Eastern Shore

From thalidomide to resveratrol, molecules with the exact same chemical properties can have drastically different effects in the body depending on how they’re arranged in space.

Related Topics

  1. Amino acids
  2. Chemistry
  3. Chirality
  4. Drug design
  5. Isomers
  6. Neurodegenerative disease
  7. Nobel Prize 2026
  8. Nobel Prize in Chemistry
  9. Thalidomide

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