Magnetism puts new spin on separating mirror image molecules

Magnetism and electron spin have been harnessed to create a new way separate and identify enantiomers – molecules that have a mirror image or chiral counterparts, akin to left and right hands. The approach could offer a broad, cheap and simple way to isolate certain chiral molecules, something that can be crucial to create safe drugs and pesticides.

Magnetism and chirality became associated when Louis Pasteur first discovered molecular chirality, or handedness, studying tartaric acid in the mid 19th century. He subsequently found that the chemistry of life tended towards molecules with a specific handedness