Beta-decay, bremsstrahlen, and the origin of molecular chirality. 1984

W A Bonner, and Y Liang

A brief review is presented of the Vester-Ulbricht beta-decay Bremsstrahlen hypothesis for the origin of optical activity, and of subsequent experiments designed to test it. Certain of our experiments along these lines, begun in 1974 and involving the irradiation of racemic and optically active amino acids in a 61.7 KCi 90Sr-90Y Bremsstrahlen source, have now been completed and are described. After 10.89 years of irradiation with a total Bremsstrahlen dose of 2.5 X 10(9) rads, crystalline DL-leucine, norleucine, and norvaline suffered 47.2, 33.6, and 27.4% radiolysis, respectively, but showed no evidence whatsoever of asymmetric degradation. D- and L-Leucine underwent about 48% radiolysis and showed 2.4-2.9% radioracemization. Other samples in solution were too severely degraded to analyze. Probable intrinsic reasons for the failure of the Vester-Ulbricht mechanism to afford asymmetric radiolysis in the present and related experiments involving beta-decay Bremsstrahlen are enumerated.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008956 Models, Chemical Theoretical representations that simulate the behavior or activity of chemical processes or phenomena; includes the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment. Chemical Models,Chemical Model,Model, Chemical
D011854 Radiochemistry The study of the chemical and physical phenomena of radioactive substances. Radiochemistries
D005075 Biological Evolution The process of cumulative change over successive generations through which organisms acquire their distinguishing morphological and physiological characteristics. Evolution, Biological
D000596 Amino Acids Organic compounds that generally contain an amino (-NH2) and a carboxyl (-COOH) group. Twenty alpha-amino acids are the subunits which are polymerized to form proteins. Amino Acid,Acid, Amino,Acids, Amino
D013237 Stereoisomerism The phenomenon whereby compounds whose molecules have the same number and kind of atoms and the same atomic arrangement, but differ in their spatial relationships. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 5th ed) Molecular Stereochemistry,Stereoisomers,Stereochemistry, Molecular,Stereoisomer

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