A magnetic twist on chirality- toward smarter drug and agrochemical production
🧲✨ Magnetic particles with a twist—literally.
Kudos to Prof. Amos Sharoni, Prof. Yitzhak Mastai, and their team—especially PhD student Yarden Ben Moshe—for pioneering the development of chiral Janus magnetic polymeric particles capable of distinguishing between molecular mirror images, known as enantiomers.
In pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and many other industries, separating enantiomers is vital: one version of a molecule might heal, while its mirror image could be ineffective, or even harmful. Yet efficient separation has long been a major challenge.
Enter this novel approach: by combining ferromagnetic coatings with chiral polymer beads, the team directs crystallization toward a specific enantiomer. Their results showed a high enantiomeric excess, compelling proof of concept.
🌍 Why does it matter?  Because magnetically assisted, scalable separation could revolutionize how we produce essential compounds, making the process cleaner, greener, and far more efficient.
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