Amino acids (except for glycine) have a chiral carbon atom adjacent to the carboxyl group and the amine group. In space, amino acids exist in both <i>dexter</i> (D) and <i>laevus</i> (L) configurations, but only L-configuration occurs on Earth. Since D- and L-configurations are isomers of each other, there is no energetic difference expected, i.e. there is no preference for nature. Fortunately, an asymmetric local environment provides a platform to distinguish the energetic values of the two chiral configurations. In the paper, we focus on the simplest amino acid: alanine. A metal-centered complex is a platform to produce diamino acids. The energetics and stabilities of different atomic arrangements on the amino acids (such as un-ionized or zwitterionic forms) and charge states are investigated with density functional theory.

Study chirality of amino acids with density functional theory

2019 Spring National Meeting

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