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For almost four decades, the chiral fungicides metalaxyl and furalaxyl have been in use in plant protection on a global scale. Both substances are distributed as racemic mixtures, yet the desirable interference in nucleic acid synthesis of harmful fungi only occurs by the (-)-R-enantiomer. As enantioselective degradation in Scheyern (Germany) and Yaoundé (Cameroon) soils has been documented, the influence of 50 isolated microorganisms on the R/S ratio was investigated. A high-pressure liquid chromatography method with a chiral column to separate enantiomers of metalaxyl and furalaxyl, and subsequent detection by tandem mass spectrometry, was employed. Only one of these microorganisms, a strain of Brevibacillus brevis, showed an enantioselective degradation pattern in liquid culture; the respective (-)-R-enantiomers were preferably degraded. Moreover, (-)-R-furalaxyl was degraded faster in cultures supplemented simultaneously with both fungicides of the same concentration.

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D-/L-peptides such as gramicidin A (gA) adopt unique dimeric β-helical structures of different topologies. To overcome their conformational promiscuity and enrich individual components, a dynamic combinatorial approach assisted by thiol tags was developed. This method led to identification of the preferential formation of antiparallel dimers under a broad range of conditions, which was independent of peptide side-chain polarity. Exclusive formation of an antiparallel cyclic dimer was achieved in the presence of cesium ions.