The limited Frank's chiral amplification model

Abstract

Frank's law of mass action-based model of chiral amplification is modified so as to avoid the unlimited increase in the concentration of one enantiomer. The basic features of this limited Frank model could be established without knowing the actual form of the solution of the respective system of differential equations. The model predicts two distinct time-evolutions of the system, one leading to complete monochirality and the other resulting in a racemic final state. The conditions for each of the two possible terminations of the process are established; they depend on the ratio of two certain rate constants and are independent of the initial composition of the system.