We live in a three-dimensional (3-D) world and our analyses of atoms and molecules must be three-dimensional. Molecular models give an excellent visualization of the 3-D world of molecules and their possible orientations in space. This 3-D visualization of molecules is essential in order to effectively predict the properties of some molecules and equally important, the reactivity of some molecules.
Over the years, various representations have been used to show the 3-D structures of molecules. These representations include the Fischer projections, dashed/wedge representations, and the Newman projection. For some molecules that are very similar but differ only in their 3-D dimensional arrangements of the atoms in space, there have been terms such as R and S absolute configurations used to describe and differentiate such molecules. A lot of molecules that appear to be very similar but differ only in the spatial arrangements about certain atoms are different and often have different biological effects. These subtle differences are often very difficult to see when viewing molecules on paper or on the computer screen, even when using the various representations, but can be easily seen using a molecular model set. In order to effectively visualize molecules in 3-D and understand the various stereochemical properties and reactivities, it is best to visualize molecules using a model set.
The name for this website was derived from an important concept of some molecules when they are analyzed in 3-D. The mirror images of certain molecules are very similar to the original molecules, but they are really different molecules, such molecules are sometimes referred to as stereogenic molecules, which gave the inspiration for name of this website, steregenics. For any chemistry student and especially a student of organic chemistry, a model set is a must and this model set by Stereogenics offers students that hands-on manipulation necessary to grasp some of the basic concepts needed to understand the 3-D world of molecules and will serve to assist in the applications of different concepts when solving different problems.