Diastereomer

Diastereomers are optical isomers that are not enantiomers, or mirror images of each other. Diastereomers can have different physical properties and different reactivity.

If a molecule contains a single asymmetric carbon atom, it will have two mirror image forms. If a molecule contains two asymmetric carbons, there are 4 possible configurations, and they can not all be mirror images of each other. The possibilities continue to multiply as there are more asymmetric centers in a molecule.

Tartaric acid contains two asymmetric centers, but two of the configurations are equivalent and together are called meso compounds. This configuration is not optically active, while the remaining two configurations are d- and l- mirror images. The meso form is a diastereomer of the other forms.

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

Two common prefixes used to distinguish diastereomers are threo and erythro. 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 sites.

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