Review
Organoautocatalysis: Challenges for experiment and theory
-
Correspondence: Svetlana B Tsogoeva tsogoeva@chemie.uni-erlangen.de
Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Chair of Organic Chemistry I, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Henkestrasse 42, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
Journal of Systems Chemistry 2010, 1:8 doi:10.1186/1759-2208-1-8
Published: 18 August 2010Abstract
Recent reports about enantioselective organoautocatalytic systems, in which small organic molecules assist in their own formation and under conservation of their absolute configuration, are discussed. This process, appearing as a natural extension to non-covalent enantioselective organocatalysis, seems analogous to template-directed self-replication, previously observed in simple organic molecules and holds implications for models on the origin of life.