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Cited by 130Origins and Evolution of LifeAsymmetric Synthesis and CatalysisCalcium Carbonate Crystallization and Inhibition

Chiral Symmetry Breaking and Complete Chiral Purity by Thermodynamic-Kinetic Feedback Near Equilibrium: Implications for the Origin of Biochirality

Viedma, Cristobal·2007·Astrobiology
DOI 10.1089/ast.2006.0099
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Abstract

Chiral symmetry breaking occurs when a physical or chemical process spontaneously generates a large excess of one of the two enantiomers--left-handed (L) or right-handed (D)--with no preference as to which of the two enantiomers is produced. From the viewpoint of energy, these two enantiomers can exist with an equal probability, and inorganic processes that involve chiral products commonly yield a racemic mixture of both. The fact that biologically relevant molecules exist only as one of the two enantiomers is a fascinating example of complete symmetry breaking in chirality and has long intrigued the science community. The origin of this selective chirality has remained a fundamental enigma with regard to the origin of life since the time of Pasteur, some 140 years ago. Here, it is shown that two populations of chiral crystals of left and right hand cannot coexist in solution: one of the chiral populations disappears in an irreversible autocatalytic process that nurtures the other one. Final and complete chiral purity seems to be an inexorable fate in the course of the common process of growth-dissolution. This unexpected chiral symmetry breaking can be explained by the feedback between the thermodynamic control of dissolution and the kinetics of the growth process near equilibrium. This "thermodynamic-kinetic feedback near equilibrium" is established as a mechanism to achieve complete chiral purity in solid state from a previously solid racemic medium. The way in which this mechanism could operate in solutions of chiral biomolecules is described. Finally, based on this mechanism, experiments designed to search for chiral purity in a new way are proposed: chiral purity of amino acids or biopolymers is predicted in solid phase from a previously solid racemic medium. This process may have played a key role in the origin of biochirality.

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  • The solution phase serves as a conduit through which molecules that form one hand of the crystal forget their solid-state chiral history and are free to choose a new solid-state chiral destiny, a process named 'chiral amnesia'.

    “The solution phase serves as the conduit through which the molecules that form one hand of the crystal forget their solid-state chiral history and are free to choose a new solid-state chiral destiny, a process that has been given the name 'chiral amnesia' (Blackmond 2007; Viedma 2007).”

    From The Origin of Biological Homochirality (2010) · cites this paper as Viedma 2007

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Authors
Viedma, C.
Affiliations
Departamento de Cristalografia y Mineralogía, Facultad de Geología, Universidad Complutense, Ciudad Universitaria, Madrid, Spain.
Venue
Astrobiology
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2007-04
Volume
7
Issue
2
Pages
312-319
ISSN
  • 1531-1074 (ISSN-L)
  • 1557-8070
DOI
10.1089/ast.2006.0099
OpenAlex
W2089336525
Cited by
130
References
19
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 9
FWCI
8.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Astrobiology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
  • Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Organic Chemistry › Asymmetric Synthesis and Catalysis
  • Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Biomaterials › Calcium Carbonate Crystallization and Inhibition
Keywords
chiral symmetry breaking, autocatalysis, chiral crystals, enantiomeric excess, racemic mixtures, origin of life, amino acids, biopolymers
MeSH terms
Bromates, Crystallization, Feedback, Kinetics, Stereoisomerism, Thermodynamics, Sodium Compounds

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