Racemization

Name:
Racemization
Detailed information:
Conversion, by heat or by chemical reaction (e.g., enolization) of an optically active compound into an optically inactive form in which half of the optically active substance becomes its mirror image (enantiomer). This change results in a mixture of equal quantities of dextro- and levorotatory isomers, as a result of which the compound does not rotate plane-polarized light to either right or left since the two opposite rotations cancel each other. This is sometimes referred to as external compensation, as opposed to the internal compensation exhibited by meso-compounds.See meso-; Tartaric Acid.