Perspectives in Theoretical Stereochemistry

Stereochemistry is the part of chemistry that relates observable prop­ erties of chemical compounds to the structure of their molecules, i. e. the relative spatial arrangement of their constituent atoms. In classical stereochemistry, the spatial arrangements relevant for interpreting and predicting a given chemical property are customarily described by geometric features/ symmetries in some suitably chosen rigid model of the molecule The solution of stereochemical problems involving single molecular species is the danain of the geometry based approaches, such as the methods of classical stereochemistry, molecular mechanics and quantum chemistry. The molecules of a pure chemical compound form generally an ensemble of molecular individuals that differ in geometry and energy. Thus it is generally impossible to represent a chemical compund adequately by the geo­ metry of a rigid molecular model. In modern stereochemistry it is often necessary to analyze molecular relation within ensembles and families of stereoisomers and permutation isomers, including molecules whose geometric features are changing with time. Accordingly, there is definitely a need for new types of ideas, concepts, theories and techniques that are usable beyond the scope of customary methodology. This is why the present text was written.