High-precision detection of chiral molecules based on optical weak value amplification in the ultraviolet band

Abstract

The detection of chiral molecules is highly important for drug safety; however, the chiral signals of chiral drugs are weak and are concentrated mainly in the ultraviolet band, and it is difficult for traditional methods to achieve precise detection. In this work, we apply a high-precision detection method for chiral molecules based on optical weak value amplification (WVA) in the ultraviolet band. By integrating WVA with ultraviolet spectrum analysis, we obtain the distribution of the intensity contrast ratio in the ultraviolet band, revealing the spectrum of the chiral signals. We demonstrate the application of this approach by detecting the optical rotatory dispersion (ORD) and circular dichroism (CD) of artemisinin with a high precision of 10^–6 rad, surpassing traditional detection methods. This work contributes to the precise detection of chiral spectra in the ultraviolet band and the recognition of chiral drugs, which is important in the pharmaceutical field.