Inspecting chiral molecules by Raman optical activity spectroscopy

Abstract

Raman optical activity (ROA) is a relatively new method combining the variability of scattering experiments with the structural sensitivity of chiral spectroscopy. Typically, ROA can be employed to determine absolute configuration (AC) of organic compounds, chiral metal complexes, and conformation of biologically relevant chiral molecules in solution. The present review covers the latest theoretical and experimental studies documenting the possibilities and limitations of the technique to probe molecular structure. The quantum-chemical apparatus necessary for spectral interpretation is introduced, and example applications provided, including recent data on possible extensions of the ROA spectroscopy to a more diverse systems.