A chiral atom is an atom that has four different substituents attached to it, resulting in non-superimposable mirror images. It is often denoted with an asterisk (*) or an "R"/"S" configuration. A chiral molecule is a compound that contains at least one chiral atom and therefore exists in two distinct mirror image forms called enantiomers. The presence of chiral atoms and molecules is important in the field of chemistry due to their unique properties and interactions with other molecules. To determine if a molecule is chiral, it is necessary to examine the arrangement of substituents around each chiral atom using techniques such as the Cahn-Ingold-Prelog priority rules.
