Amplification of chirality in helical supramolecular polymers

Helical supramol. polymers are a special class of supramol. polymers. The highly organized chiral ordering of the monomeric units in the stiff supramol. back bone is the results of a cooperative effect in the binding of the monomers in the polymer. By using monomers with stereocenters, there is a preference for one of the two helical forms; P or M. We will show that the amplification of chirality is fully operative and the fact that these supramol. polymers are formed under equil. conditions, the chiral amplification can be used to fully describe the structural characteristics of the helical supramol. polymers. In cases where the helical state is stable, it is even possible to imprint a preferred handedness in the back bone by chiral guest mols., leading to helical supramol. polymers with preferred handedness made from achiral monomers. [on SciFinder (R)]