Mechanical control of enantioselectivity of amino acid recognition by cholesterol-armed cyclen monolayer at the air-water interface.

Monolayers of the cholesterol-armed cyclen Na+ complex at the air-water interface display a remarkable, surface pressure dependent enantioselectivity of amino acid recognition. Upon compression of the monolayer, the binding constants of amino acids increase accompanying an inversion of chiral selectivity from the d- to l-form in the case of valine.