ABSTRACT
Chirality is built into all living things. Many important biomolecules, including all but one of the common amino acids and most sugars, are chiral. Frequently, these materials are present only in small quantities. Likewise, many synthetic drugs are chiral (for example, see Figure 7.1) and an increasing number are being marketed as single enantiomers.1 Often, only one enantiomer is therapeutically effective; the other may even be harmful, as in the case of thalidomide.
