Glossary
API: Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient, the active substance in a medical drug
Asymmetric hydrogenation: A reaction that adds a hydrogen molecule to a double bond to create a chiral center
Catalyst: A substance that speeds up a chemical reaction without itself being changed. It can therefore be used thousands of times in the same manufacturing process, so that only a very small quantity of the substance is required.
Chiral molecule: a molecule that contains one or more chiral centers, and thus consists of two or more enantiomers, or non-superimposable mirror images as illustrated by 2-butanol below.
| (R)-2-butanol |
(S)-2-butanol |
 |
 |
Chiral center: A carbon atom in a molecule with four different chemical branches attached to it.
Enantiomer: One of a pair of molecules which are non-superimposable mirror images of each other due to the presence of form one or more chiral centers.
Enantioselectivity: The ability to produce a single desired enantiomer from a chemical synthesis reaction.
Isomer: Molecules with the same chemical formula (same number and types of atoms), that differ in the arrangement and/or connection of the atoms. Enantiomers are a particular type of Isomer.
Ligand: A molecule that 'associates' with another molecule without chemically bonding. Catalysts are normally composed of a central metal atoms and several associated ligands. The chiral activity of the catalyst is due to the chirality of the ligand.
Optically active: A material which rotates the plane of incident linearly polarized light. Chiral compounds are optically active.
Racemic mixture: A product that contains both mirror-image enantiomers. Ibuprofin is sold as a racemic mixture as both enantiomers are safe and effective.
