Visualization of enantiomers in a polypeptide liquid-crystal solvent through carbon-13 NMR spectroscopy

Abstract

High-resolution, proton-coupled and decoupled, carbon-13 NMR in natural abundance is used to observe the spectra of enantiomers in chiral molecules dissolved in the poly(γ-benzyl-L-glutamate)(PBLG)/CD₂Cl₂ liquid-crystalline system. Discrimination between enantiomers can be obtained either through differences in their dipolar interactions or in their chemical shift anisotropies. This technique provides a new tool for the visualization of enantiomers and the measurement of the enantiomeric ratio. Several specific examples are presented and discussed.