In chemistry, a racemic mixture, or racemate ( /reɪˈsimeɪt/), is one that has equal amounts of left- and right-handed enantiomers of a chiral molecule. The first known racemic mixture was "racemic acid", which Louis Pasteur found to be a mixture of the two enantiomeric isomers of tartaric acid.
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A racemic mixture is denoted by the prefix (±)- or dl- (for sugars the prefix dl- may be used), indicating an equal (1:1) mixture of dextro and levo isomers. Also the prefix rac- (or racem-) or the symbols RS and SR (all in italic letters) are used.
If the ratio is not 1:1 (or is not known), the prefix (+)/(−), d/l- or d/l- (with a slash) is used instead.
The usage of d and l is strongly discouraged by IUPAC. [1] [2]
A racemate is optically inactive, meaning that there is no net rotation of plane-polarized light. Although the two enantiomers rotate plane-polarized light in opposite directions, the rotations cancel because they are present in equal amounts.
In contrast to the two pure enantiomers, which have identical physical properties except for the direction of rotation of plane-polarized light, a racemate sometimes has different properties from either of the pure enantiomers. Different melting points are most common, but different solubilities and boiling points are also possible.
Pharmaceuticals may be available as a racemate or as the pure enantiomer, which might have different potencies.
There are four ways in which a racemate can crystallize, three of which H. W. B. Roozeboom had distinguished by 1899:
The separation of a racemate into its components, the pure enantiomers, is called a chiral resolution. There are various methods, including crystallization, chromatography, and the use of enzymes. The first successful resolution of a racemate was performed by Louis Pasteur, who manually separated the crystals of a conglomerate.
Without a chiral influence (for example a chiral catalyst, solvent or starting material), a chemical reaction that makes a chiral product will always yield a racemate. That can make the synthesis of a racemate cheaper and easier than making the pure enantiomer, because it does not require special conditions. This fact also leads to the question of how biological homochirality evolved on what is presumed to be a racemic primordial earth.
The reagents of, and the reactions that produce, racemic mixtures are said to be "not stereospecific" or "not stereoselective," for their indecision in a particular stereoisomerism.
Some drug molecules are chiral, and the enantiomers have different effects on biological entities. They can be sold as one enantiomer or as a racemic mixture. Examples include thalidomide, ibuprofen, and salbutamol. Adderall is a mixture of several different amphetamine enantiomers. A single amphetamine dose combines the neutral sulfate salts of dextroamphetamine and amphetamine, with the dextro isomer of amphetamine saccharate and D/L-amphetamine aspartate monohydrate. The prescription analgesic tramadol is also a racemate.
In some cases (e.g., ibuprofen and thalidomide), the enantiomers are interconverted in vivo. This means that preparing a pure enantiomer for medication is largely pointless. However, sometimes samples containing pure enantiomers may be made and sold at a higher cost in cases where the use requires specifically one isomer (e.g., for a stereospecific reagent); compare omeprazole and esomeprazole.
In cases like salbutamol[4] and thalidomide, the inactive isomer may be harmful.
Methamphetamine is available by prescription under the brand name Desoxyn. The active component of Desoxyn is dextromethamphetamine hydrochloride. This is the right-hand isomer of methamphetamine. The left-handed isomer of methamphetamine, levomethamphetamine, is an OTC drug that is less centrally-acting and more peripherally-acting.
Wallach's rule (first proposed by Otto Wallach) states that racemic crystals tend to be denser than their chiral counterparts.[5] This rule has been substantiated by crystallographic database analysis [6]