First mirror-image cyclodextrins come together ‘like Lego’
By 
Andy Extance2024-04-05T08:30:00
L-enantiomers could be more stable than their existing, more common, forms
The first L-cyclodextrins, rings of six to eight sugar units adopting mirror-image structures relative to more common D-cyclodextrins, have been synthesised in the lab. Fraser Stoddart’s team at Northwestern University in the US used a straightforward one-pot strategy making the substances in half-gram amounts.
‘We have made L-cyclodextrins in a very efficient and scalable manner,’ says Yong Wu, who synthesised the compounds. ‘We optimised a lot of the conditions, and we got quite remarkable results. This strategy is very straightforward, like Lego.’