Synthesis of novel chiral bis-N-substituted-hydrazinecarboxamide receptors and probing their solution-phase recognition to chiral carboxylic guests by ESI-TOF/MS and tandem ESI-MS

Seven novel bis-N-substituted-hydrazinecarboxamide receptors were synthesized in good to excellent yields by reacting chiral dicarbohydrazides, obtained from commercially available tartaric acid, with substituted aromatic isocyanates. The newly synthesized hydrazinecarboxamides formed structurally unique supramolecular aggregates, which have been confirmed by ESI-TOF/MS and tandem ESI-MS. They also showed molecular recognition to a selection of chiral carboxylic guests and oligopeptides, which mimic the backbone structure of the bacterial cell wall. The structures of the novel compounds were verified by various spectroscopic techniques including FTIR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, ESI-TOF/MS, tandem ESI-MS, 2D ROESY NMR, and CD spectroscopy.