chiral carbon

A chiral carbon is a carbon atom in a molecule that is attached to four different groups or atoms. This unique arrangement makes the molecule non-superimposable on its mirror image, similar to how your left and right hands are mirror images but not identical. This property, called chirality, is important in chemistry and biology because it can influence how molecules behave and interact, such as in drug effectiveness or scent. Chiral carbons are common in organic compounds, especially in complex molecules like amino acids and sugars, where their spatial arrangement impacts function.