Definition of "racemization" [racemization]

• Conversion of an optically active substance to a racemic form. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The new method uses the natural deterioration of silk's amino acids to determine its age by calculating that change over time—a process known as racemization."
• "The root "racem" of racemization comes from a Latin word for "cluster of grapes"—some early research in chemical molecular structure involved analyzing acids derived from grape juice."
• "The ratio of these two isomers is initially unequal (with only one exception, naturally occuring amino acids are in the L form) and will decay to a balanced state in a process called '' racemization ''."