Norbornene-based anion receptors as D-alanine binders

Vancomycin is currently used as last-line therapy against many Gram-positive bacterial pathogens. Herein, we report a series of peptidomimetic norbornene-based anion receptors that were designed as simple vancomycin mimics New hosts were evaluated for their affinity to both acetate and acetyl D-Ala by ¹H NMR titration. Modest binding to both anions was observed in DMSO-d₆ (Log K_a 1–2 for TBA Acetyl D-Alanine) in the anticipated 1:1 mode of binding.