It is also important to note that in principle, the validity of our calculations could easily be confirmed -or falsifiedexperimentally. As indicated above, our results suggest that there should be a clear preference in the stereochemistry of the ribonucleoside formed in microdroplets, with the β isomer being preferred over the α one by a significant margin. In the experiments by Zare and co-workers, the stereochemistry of the formed products was not characterized, but if upon replication, it would be observed that only a single stereoisomer would be formed, then that would provide unequivocal support for the mechanism, involving an S N 2 elementary step, described above.