The difference between Diastereoisomer and Enantiomer

When used as nouns, diastereoisomer means a stereoisomer having multiple chiral centres, whereas enantiomer means one of a pair of stereoisomers that is the mirror image of the other, but may not be superimposed on this other stereoisomer. almost always, a pair of enantiomers contain at least one chiral center, and a sample of either enantiomer will be optically active.


check bellow for the other definitions of Diastereoisomer and Enantiomer

  1. Diastereoisomer as a noun (chemistry):

    A stereoisomer having multiple chiral centres; a diastereoisomer cannot normally be superimposed on the mirror image of another.

  1. Enantiomer as a noun (chemistry):

    One of a pair of stereoisomers that is the mirror image of the other, but may not be superimposed on this other stereoisomer. Almost always, a pair of enantiomers contain at least one chiral center, and a sample of either enantiomer will be optically active.