Selective Anion Sensing by Chiral Macrocyclic Receptors with Multiple Hydrogen-Bonding Sites

Chiral macrocycles featuring sulfonamide and/or amide groups as anion-binding sites were synthesized. X-ray crystal structures and DFT calculations have shown that they adopt different conformations that may lead to unique binding behavior. Indeed, various anions could be sensed by their colorimetric and/or fluorescence signal output. The chiral macrocycles showed chiral recognition for chiral anions. Furthermore, a multisensor array with two or four chiral receptors discriminated seven phosphate anions (AMP, ADP, ATP, CMP, GMP, Pi, and PPi) with 100% classification accuracy.