BIOMOLECULES AND ENZYMES

Detailed explanation-1: -What is levorotatory? Levorotatory is the enantiomer able to rotate the plane-polarized light to the left. It is represented with the symbol (-).

Detailed explanation-2: -Light can be rotated either clockwise or counter-clockwise. If light is rotated clockwise (to the right) it’s called dextrorotation. If light is rotated counter-clockwise (to the left) then it’s called levorotation.

Detailed explanation-3: -Those that rotate the plane clockwise (to the right) are said to be dextrorotatory (from the Latin dexter, “right"). Those that rotate the plane counterclockwise (to the left) are called levorotatory (from the Latin laevus, “left").

Detailed explanation-4: -Levorotatory (l; (-)): A substance that rotates plane polarized light in a counterclockwise direction. Indicated by including (-) before the compound name, or in the older literature, l, such as (-)-nicotine or (l)-nicotine. (S)-(-)-nicotine solution. (S)-(-)-nicotine solution.

Detailed explanation-5: -For example, the S enantiomer of ibuprofen is dextrorotatory, but the S enantiomer of glyceraldehyde is levorotatory. A 50:50 mixture of two enantiomers (a racemic mixture) will have no observable optical activity, because the two optical activities cancel each other out.