Chiral hydroxycarboxylates are useful compounds in the syntheses of natural products, pharmaceutical intermediates, and drugs. Here, we report on Zn- and Cu-containing sensors that can distinguish between enantiomers of hydroxycarboxylates through the quenching or the enhancement of fluorescence. A Zn-based sensor—[Zn^RRL]²⁺—is used in an assay to perform analyses of enantiomeric excess (% ee) of scalemic mixtures of α-hydroxycarboxylates and various drugs including the statin drug atorvastatin. This assay enables determination of mixtures of enantiomers across the range from 0 to 100% ee.