Preferred Label : asymmetric;
IUPAC definition : Lacking all symmetry elements (other than the trivial one of a one-fold axis of symmetry),
i.e. belonging to the symmetry point group C1. The term has been used loosely (and
incorrectly) to describe the absence of a rotation–reflection axis (alternating axis)
in a molecule, i.e. as meaning chiral, and this usage persists in the traditional
terms asymmetric carbon atom, asymmetric synthesis, asymmetric induction, etc.;
Origin ID : A00478;
Automatic exact mappings (from CISMeF team)
- See also
Lacking all symmetry elements (other than the trivial one of a one-fold axis of symmetry),
i.e. belonging to the symmetry point group C1. The term has been used loosely (and
incorrectly) to describe the absence of a rotation–reflection axis (alternating axis)
in a molecule, i.e. as meaning chiral, and this usage persists in the traditional
terms asymmetric carbon atom, asymmetric synthesis, asymmetric induction, etc.
