THE CRITICAL TIME IN FRANK CHIRAL AMPLIFICATION MODEL

The concept of critical time in a law-of-mass-action-based model of chiral amplification is defined as the moment at which the chiral polarization has its inflection point. The slope of the chiral polarization at the critical point reflects the speed by which the transition from an almost racemic into an almost monochiral state occurs. Analytical expressions for the critical time and critical slope in the Frank model are deduced, showing that the transition is always rapid.