Why Are Enantiomerically Pure Compounds Important in Catalysis?
Enantiomerically pure compounds are vital in catalysis primarily due to their role in chiral catalysis. Chiral catalysts can induce asymmetry in chemical reactions, leading to the preferential formation of one enantiomer over the other. This is particularly important in the pharmaceutical industry where the biological activity of drugs can be highly enantioselective. For instance, one enantiomer of a drug may be therapeutic, while the other could be inactive or even harmful.
