R-S

CONFIGURATION
EXAMPLES
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Lactic acid produced by fermentation of
milk is often racemic, although certain
species of bacteria produce solely (R)-
lactic acid. On the other hand, lactic acid
produced by anaerobic respiration in
animal muscles has the (S) configuration
and is sometimes called "sarcolactic"
acid, from the Greek "sarx" for flesh.
Ibuprofen (IBU) is a non-steroidal anti-
inflammatory drug exhibiting optical
isomerism. Only the racemate is in clincal
use. Inin vitro studies it has been
demonstrated that only the S(+)-enantiomer
inhibits the PG synthetase system.