Specification of Molecular Chirality

TLDR

Topological analysis of chiral molecular models provides a general system for specifying chirality, which has been applied to organic configurations since 1956 and subsequently redefined based on later experience. The study examines how chiral specifications are transferred from model to name, focusing on the integration of general system expressions with more limited scope nomenclature. The system is expanded to handle both organic‑chemical conformations and inorganic‑chemical configurations with six ligands. A corrigendum is available at DOI: 10.1002/anie.196605111.

Abstract

Abstract The topological analysis of chiral molecular models has provided the framework of a general system for the specification of their chirality. The application, made in and before 1956, of this system to organic‐chemical configurations is generally retained, but is redefined with respect to certain types of structure, largely in the light of experience gained since 1956 in the Beilstein Institute and elsewhere. The system is now extended to deal, on the one hand, with organic‐chemical conformations, and, on the other, with inorganic‐chemical configurations to ligancy six. Matters arising in connexion with the transference of chiral specifications from model to name are considered, notably that of the symbiosis in nomenclature of expressions of the general system and of systems of confined scope. For corrigendum see DOI: 10.1002/anie.196605111