Recognition of Chiral Amines by a Terpyridine–ZnII-Complex-Based Circular-Dichroism Sensor

A terpyridine-based aldehyde was discovered to exhibit strong circular-dichroism (CD) signals at wavelengths much greater than the absorptions of the chiral substrates when treated with chiral amines, amino alcohols, and amino acids in the presence of Zn2+. This sensor system can be used to determine the enantiomeric composition of the chiral compounds by CD measurement.