ON THE ASSESSMENT OF MOLECULAR CHIRALITY

A property termed helicity tensor, defined on the basis of the molecul ar shape, is proposed to quantify the chirality of arbitrary molecules , Numerical implementation of the model can be easily done, once the m olecular geometry is known. The principal components of the tensor rep resent helicities of the molecular surface as viewed along the three p erpendicular axes. Results are presented for a number of systems, goin g from asymmetrically substituted methane derivatives to complex helic oidal structures, Although originally derived to predict the twisting power of chiral probes dissolved in liquid crystal solvents, the conce pt of helicity tensor provides a useful tool for many applications of molecular engineering.