TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE OF THE OPTICAL ACTIVITY OF TERPENE AND SUGAR SOLUTIONS

Abstract

In order to clarify the mechanism of adaptation of living organisms to the external chiral factor, the temperature dependences of the angle of rotation of a number of terpenes (pinan, α- and ß-pinenes, fenchone, camphor) and sugars (glucose, sucrose, dextran) in ethylcyclohexane and aqueous solutions, respectively, are approximated by the Arrhenius function. The activation energies are compared with the energy spectrum of the rotational-vibrational motion and transitions in molecules and supramolecular structures. It is suggested that the torsional vibrations of the molecules as a whole limit the temperature dependence of their optical activity and self-organization in aqueous solutions.