R/S configuration
Stereocenter spatial arrangement
R/S configuration is a system for describing the three-dimensional arrangement of atoms around a chiral center in organic chemistry.
R (from Latin *rectus*, right) and S (*sinister*, left) indicate whether substituents spiral clockwise or counterclockwise when ranked by atomic number.
The designation appears in chemical names: (R)-ibuprofen, (S)-alanine.
Two molecules with opposite R/S configurations are mirror images—enantiomers—which may have dramatically different biological effects.
- chiralityMirror-image non-superimposability
- stereochemistryStudy of molecular shape
- enantiomerMirror-image molecular variant
- clockwiseRightward circular motion
- counterclockwiseRotating leftward from above
priority · handedness · mirror · asymmetric · carbon · tetrahedral · optical · isomer · spatial · three-dimensional · absolute · assignment · rotation · molecule · nomenclature · wedge · dash · Fischer
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