Supramolecular photochirogenesis with biomolecules. Mechanistic studies on the enantiodifferentiation for the photocyclodimerization of 2-anthracenecarboxylate mediated by bovine serum albumin

Photophysics and photochemistry of 2-anthracenecarboxylate (AC) bound to bovine serum albumin (BSA) are investigated. The largest photochirogenesis was observed for the site with moderate binding affinity showing that compensation between the strength of the binding and mobility is important to achieve chiral discrimination for biomolecular reactions in chiral environments.