Epimer

Definition

An epimer is a type of stereoisomer where two molecules differ in the configuration of only one stereogenic center out of several. These compounds have the same molecular formula but differ in spatial arrangement at a single carbon atom.

Related terms

Stereoisomer:

Isomers that have the same molecular formula and sequence of bonded atoms but differ in the three-dimensional orientations of their atoms in space.

Chirality:

The characteristic of a molecule that makes it non-superimposable on its mirror image, often due to the presence of an asymmetric carbon atom.

Diastereomer:

Stereoisomers that are not mirror images of each other and differ in configuration at one or more (but not all) chiral centers