1. a mixture containing equal amounts of two enantiomers (mirror-image forms) of a chiral molecule
Usage: chemistry

Examples

• The chemist synthesized a racemate of the drug compound.
• Separating the racemate into its individual enantiomers required specialized techniques.
• The racemate showed no optical activity due to the equal proportions of left and right-handed molecules.
• Pharmaceutical companies often need to resolve racemates to obtain the active enantiomer.
• The crystallization process helped separate the racemate into pure enantiomers.
• Many naturally occurring compounds exist as racemates in laboratory synthesis.