Stereoregular

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Characterized by a consistent spatial arrangement of atoms in a polymer chain; exhibiting uniform stereochemistry along a macromolecular backbone; showing repetitive and regular stereochemical pattern in molecular structure
2. Describing polymers that maintain a homogeneous three-dimensional orientation of substituent groups; having a consistent and repeated stereochemical configuration throughout the polymer; presenting a uniform arrangement of atoms in three-dimensional space within a polymer chain
3. Pertaining to macromolecules with an orderly and repetitive spatial arrangement of chiral centers; indicating polymers with a fixed stereochemical sequence; revealing a homogeneous stereochemical pattern in the polymer’s molecular architecture

Etymology: "Stereoregular" is a plain modern compound, built from the combining form "stereo-" and "regular." The first part comes from Ancient Greek "stereós," meaning "solid" or "firm," which in English became a prefix meaning "three-dimensional" or "concerning solid space." It appears in words like "stereochemistry," the study of how atoms are arranged in space. The second part traces back much further. "Regular" was borrowed from Latin "rēgulāris," which describes something that follows a rule, and that Latin word itself comes from "rēgula," meaning "rule" or "straight stick," from the verb "regere," to guide or rule. English took "regular" in the medieval period, and its sense of conforming to a pattern gives the compound its meaning. Put together, "stereoregular" describes a polymer whose building blocks repeat in the same spatial orientation along the chain, so the molecule has a regular three-dimensional pattern rather than a random one.

Synonyms: stereospecific, selective

Antonyms: nonselective, nonstereospecific