Chirality shock: Geneva chemists forge millennia-stable ‘mirror-proof’ drugs

Chemists at the University of Geneva and University of Pisa have crafted a novel family of chiral molecules whose mirror-image “handedness” remains rock-solid for tens of thousands of years. By swapping the usual carbon-bound arms for oxygen and nitrogen, they introduced an unprecedented stereogenic center and proved its extreme resilience through dynamic chromatography and quantum calculations. This breakthrough not only prevents life-saving drugs from flipping into harmful twins but also unlocks fresh 3D architectures for future medicines and smart materials.