Chemists have shown it is possible to use mass spectrometry ' a technique commonly used to identify molecules by mass ' to separate chiral molecules, those that exist as different forms with identical atoms but mirror-image structures that can't be superimposed on each other. The technique, described today in Science1, could one day have applications in drug discovery. The different versions of chiral molecules ' called enantiomers ' often have very different properties. The drug thalidomide showed this to tragic effect: one enantiomer is a sedative, but the other causes congenital disabilities when taken during pregnancy. As a result, separating enantiomers is a crucial part of drug discovery, but it is often laborious. Current methods require specialist equipment and different protocols for each pair of enantiomers. The researchers put pairs of these propeller-shaped molecules into a mass spectrometer, where they were vaporized, ionized and transported to a component called an...
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