Dextrodopa

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A synthetic mirror-image form of dopa, the amino acid precursor of dopamine, that is largely inactive in the body compared with its levorotatory counterpart
2. The right-handed stereoisomer of dihydroxyphenylalanine, studied in chemistry and pharmacology as a non-natural counterpart to levodopa
3. An enantiomer of dopa that rotates polarized light to the right and is used mainly in research rather than as a treatment for Parkinson's disease

Etymology: The "dextro-" in this chemical name comes from Latin "dexter," meaning "right" (as in right-hand). Chemists use it for molecules that rotate plane-polarized light clockwise, and the prefix is paired with "levo-" from Latin "laevus," meaning "left," for molecules that rotate light the other way. The two forms are mirror images of each other. Dextrodopa is the right-handed form of DOPA, the amino acid 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, whose name is a shortened form of that longer chemical name. The mirror-image pairing is what makes the term matter in medicine. Levodopa, the left-handed form, is the form the body uses to make dopamine, and it is the drug used to treat Parkinson's disease. Dextrodopa is not used the same way, so the prefix is the reason the two names must be kept apart.