The role of nickel(II) on the homochirality of amino acids in living systems

The origin of homochirality in living organisms is controversial, stands out of being particularly important and a question which is still not satisfactorily answered. A mental picture of sequence of events that is thought to have preceded the existence of chirality in molecules is described. A chemical model to mimic the original abiotic conditions in an attempt to explain the preference of homochirality in living systems was tried. The effect which might have influenced this preference is presented. The surprising and unexpected results are indeed interesting, significant, repeatable and indicate that complexing alanine with nickel(II) ion alters the racemization rates of d and l isomers of the amino acid. However, why this difference happens is unclear and is difficult to explain.