Hi everybody
I have a naive question for somebody out there who is patient
enough to answer!
I am aware of the fact that the racemic mixtures of L & D
amino acids are synthesised for shorter polypeptides. But,
the basic assumption for the observed protein is that, all
the amino acids are in the L-form. This has been corroborated
with experimental studies like crystallography (which alone
I know something about). I remember that the L & D conformers
are away by only a few Kcals. If so, and if it is true that
x-ray xtallography cannot detect the conformers (due to the
fact that they collect only the hkl data and not the bijveot
pairs through anomalous scattering), how can one be sure of
the basic assumption i mentioned in the beginning ?
I might be thoroughly wrong, ignoring other well established
spectroscopic techniques!
Thanks for your time!
--GV
