Pasteur re-mixed

Chirality at the nanoscale: nanoparticles, surfaces, materials and more

David Amabilino (ed) 

Weinheim, Germany: Wiley-VCH  2009 | 440 pp | ?130.00 (HB) ISBN 9783527320134

Reviewed by David K Smith 

Since the pioneering experiments of Louis Pasteur, chemists have been fascinated by chirality - the left or right handedness of things. This book provides a timely insight into how Pasteur’s classic concepts translate into the rapidly-growing field of nanotechnology, explaining in one place the wide range of new and intriguing ’nanochiral’ phenomena which have recently been observed. 

Despite being an edited compilation of material, this book has a pleasing and logical sense of organisation and excellent subject coverage: a tribute to careful editing. Starting with an in-depth physical introduction to chirality, the book then considers how molecules can ’communicate’ with one another through non-covalent interactions 
to form organised nanoscale systems.

The book progresses from discrete (’zero-dimensional’) supramolecular clusters and complexes, to one-dimensional systems such as polymers and gels, two-dimensional chiral organisation on surfaces, and three-dimensional nanoscale chirality in bulk fluids, liquid crystals, and solids.

Finally, the book introduces applied aspects of the topic such as molecular machines and nanoporous chiral materials. The chapters all read very clearly and advanced undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers would gain a lot from this book.