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uorganic
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If a natural product was isolated and was found to have an enantiomeric excess (ee) of 84% what would be the percentages of each enatiomer in the mixture?
uorganic said:If a natural product was isolated and was found to have an enantiomeric excess (ee) of 84% what would be the percentages of each enatiomer in the mixture?
Enantiomeric excess is a measure of the asymmetry of a mixture of enantiomers, which are molecules that are mirror images of each other but cannot be superimposed.
Enantiomeric excess is calculated by subtracting the percentage of the minor enantiomer from the percentage of the major enantiomer, and then dividing by the total percentage of both enantiomers.
A good enantiomeric excess value depends on the specific application, but generally an ee of 90% or above is considered excellent, while an ee of 50% or below is considered racemic (equal mixture of both enantiomers).
Enantiomeric excess can be determined experimentally using techniques such as chiral chromatography, polarimetry, or NMR spectroscopy. These methods involve separating and analyzing the enantiomers to determine their relative quantities.
Enantiomeric excess is important in organic chemistry because it can affect the properties and reactivities of chiral molecules. In addition, many pharmaceuticals and natural products are chiral, so having control over the enantiomeric excess is crucial in drug development and synthesis of natural compounds.