Anion Recognition Properties of a Chiral Amino Acid Appended Porphyrin

Synthetic anion receptors may have numerous biological and environmental applications due to the abundance of anions in biological and environmental systems. Porphyrins are ideal for anion receptor design mainly due to their spectroscopic and electrochemical properties. We report here the synthesis and recognition properties of a chiral porphyrin receptor for chiral anionic guests. The key structural feature of the synthetic receptor centers on the functionalization of one porphyrin meso position with a chiral anion recognition moiety - an enantiomerically pure amino acid, in this case phenylalanine. Metallation of the porphyrin provides an additional binding site. The recognition properties of the host with chiral anionic guests such as amino acids and carboxylates will be reported.