Diastereomer

Diastereomers that are also epimers
D-Threose	D-Erythrose

Diastereomers (sometimes called diastereoisomers) are a type of a stereoisomer. Diastereomerism occurs when two or more stereoisomers of a compound have different configurations at one or more (but not all) of the equivalent (related) stereocenters and are not mirror images of each other. When two diastereoisomers differ from each other at only one stereocenter they are epimers. Each stereocenter gives rise to two different configurations and thus typically increases the number of stereoisomers by a factor of two.

Diastereomers differ from enantiomers in that the latter are pairs of stereoisomers that differ in all stereocenters and are therefore mirror images of one another. Enantiomers of a compound with more than one stereocenter are also diastereomers of the other stereoisomers of that compound that are not their mirror image (that is, excluding the opposing enantiomer). Diastereomers have different physical properties (unlike most aspects of enantiomers) and often different chemical reactivity.

Diastereoselectivity is the preference for the formation of one or more than one diastereomer over the other in an organic reaction.

Diastereomerism can also occur at a double bond, where the cis vs trans relative positions of substituents give two non-superposable isomers. Many conformational isomers are are diastereomeric as well.

Syn / anti

When the single bond between the two centres is free to rotate, cis/trans descriptors become invalid. Two widely accepted prefixes used to distinguish diastereomers on sp³-hybridised bonds in an open-chain molecule are syn and anti. Masamune proposed the descriptors which work even if the groups are not on adjacent carbons. It also works regardless of CIP priorities. Syn describes groups on the same face while anti describes groups on opposite faces. The concept applies only to the Zigzag projection. The descriptors only describe relative stereochemistry rather than absolute stereochemistry.

Erythro / threo

Two older prefixes still commonly used to distinguish diastereomers are threo and erythro. In the case of saccharides, when drawn in the Fischer projection the erythro isomer has two identical substituents on the same side and the threo isomer has them on opposite sides. When drawn as a zig-zag chain, the erythro isomer has two identical substituents on different sides of the plane (anti). The names are derived from the diastereomeric aldoses erythrose (a syrup) and threose (melting point 126 °C). These prefixes are not recommended for use outside of the realm of saccharides because their definitions can lead to conflicting interpretations.

Another threo compound is threonine, one of the essential amino acids. The erythro diastereomer is called allothreonine.

L-Threonine (2S,3R) and D-Threonine (2R,3S)

L-Allothreonine (2S,3S) and D-Allothreonine (2R,3R)

Multiple stereocenters

If a molecule contains two asymmetric stereocenters, there are up to 4 possible configurations, and they cannot all be non-superposable mirror images of each other. The possibilities for different isomers continue to multiply as more asymmetric stereocenters are added, in a molecule. In general, the number of configurational stereoisomers of a molecule can be determined by calculating 2ⁿ, where n = the number of chiral centers in the molecule. This holds true except in cases where the molecule has meso forms (see below), cis-trans isomers, or conformational isomers.

For n = 3, there are eight stereoisomers, or four pairs of enantiomers: R,R,R and S,S,S; R,R,S and S,S,R; R,S,S and S,R,R; and R,S,R and S,R,S. There are many more diastereomers, because each of these configurations is a diastereomer with respect to every other configuration excluding it's own enantiomer. For n = 4, there are sixteen stereoisomers, or eight pairs of enantiomers. The four aldopentoses and the eight aldohexoses (subsets of the five- and six-carbon sugars) are examples of sets of compounds that differ in this way.

The families of 4, 5 and 6 carbon carbohydrates contain many diastereomers because of the large numbers of asymmetric stereocenters in these molecules.

Meso compounds

Tartaric acid contains two asymmetric centers, but two of the "isomers" are equivalent and together are called a meso compound. This configuration is not optically active, while the remaining two isomers are D- and L- mirror images, i.e., enantiomers. The meso form of the compound is a diastereomer of the other two forms.

(natural) tartaric acid L-(+)-tartaric acid dextrotartaric acid	D-(−)-tartaric acid levotartaric acid	meso-tartaric acid
(1:1) DL-(+/-)-tartaric acid "racemic tartaric acid"

Applications

As stated previously, two diastereomers will not have identical chemical properties. This knowledge is harnessed in chiral synthesis to separate a mixture of enantiomers. This is the principle behind chiral resolution. After preparing the diastereomers, they are separated by chromatography or recrystallization. Note also the example of the stereochemistry of ketonization of enols and enolates.

See also

• Cahn–Ingold–Prelog priority rules for nomenclature.