title: D- or L-alanine: that is the question.
abstract: The question is reopened, whether L- or D-alanine is more stable. Calculated parity-violating energy shifts for the 13 stable conformers of gaseous alanine (the picture shows the global minima) indicate that the stabilization of a certain enantiomer is strongly dependent on its conformation. Naturally occurring L-alanine is preferred for only seven of the investigated structures, which allows no definite conclusion on the relative stability of the two chiral forms to explain the origin of homochirality in living organisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry University of Auckland Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Laerdahl
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wesendrup
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schwerdtfeger
mesh_terms: D000409:Alanine / Q000737:chemistry*; D011789:Quantum Theory; D013237:Stereoisomerism
chemical_list: D000409:Alanine