JNTU B.Pharmacy II PHARMACEUTICAL ORGANIC CHEMISTRY-III Previous Question Paper (November/December -2020 - R17)

Optical isomerism is a form of stereoisomerism where molecules have the same molecular formula and connectivity but differ in their spatial arrangement, resulting in the ability to rotate the plane of plane-polarized light. This occurs in molecules containing a chiral center, such as lactic acid, which exists as two non-superimposable mirror-image forms.

Optical activity is the property of a substance to rotate the plane of plane-polarized light. Substances that rotate light to the right are termed dextrorotatory (+), while those that rotate it to the left are levorotatory (-). An example is the rotation of light by a solution of (+)-glucose.