A significant number of pharmaceutical compounds contain one or more c
enters of dissymmetry, which presents a unique series of regulatory an
d compendial requirements. These molecules can be effectively characte
rized using chiroptical spectroscopy, the exact nature of which is dic
tated by the nature of the problem to be investigated. Techniques that
have been found to be very useful for such work include polarimetry,
optical rotatory dispersion, circular dichroism, and circularly polari
zed luminescence. The principles underlying each effect are briefly ou
tlined, and the application of each is illustrated with appropriate ex
amples. (C) 1997 Academic Press.