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The spontaneous transformation of soluble polypeptide helices into insoluble sheet structures upon combining the two enantiomeric helices (shown schematically in the picture on the right) implies that metastable superstructures have longevity in solution when they are made up of chiral subunits. On combining clear solutions of the title compounds, which are stable for weeks, the racemate immediately precipitates in almost quantitative yield. Apparently the extremely large surface areas (energies) due to the curvature of the helices impairs crystallization, whereas crystal planes without curvature can be formed in the racemate.
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Fuhrhop et al. (1987) studied this question.
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