Examples
An example of such an enantiomer is the sedative thalidomide. It was sold in a number of countries across the world from 1957 until 1961, when it was withdrawn from the market after being found to be a cause of birth defects.
In the herbicide mecoprop, the carboxyl group and the hydrogen atom on the central C-atom are exchanged (with the screen as plane of symmetry). After rotating one of the isomers 180 degrees (in the same plane), the two are still mirror images of each other. The mirror image of each enantiomer is superposable on the other enantiomer.
Another example is the antidepressant drugs escitalopram and citalopram. Citalopram is a racemate ; escitalopram is a pure enantiomer. The dosages for escitalopram are typically 1/2 of those for citalopram.
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