Two chiral colorimetric sensors (1,2) were synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic techniques and their enantioselective recognition of chiral dicarboxylic anions (D/L-aspartate and D/L-malate) was examined by UV-vis and 1H NMR spectroscopy. Interaction of the receptors 1 and 2 with the enantiomers of aspartate or malate caused different color changes, and they act as optical chemosensors for the recognition of D-aspartate vs.L-aspartate and D-malate vs.L-malate. Receptor 1 exhibits high enantioselective binding for aspartate anions [KA(D)/KA(L) = 12.15].
