The molecular clefts (R)and (S)-3, incorporating 9,9-spirobi[9H-fluorene] as a spacer and two N-(5,7dimethyl-1 ,8-naphthyridin-2-yl)carboxamide (CONH(naphthy)) units as H-bonding sites were prepared via the bis(succinimid-N-yl esters) of (R)and (S)-9,9'-spirobi[9H-fluorene]-2,2-dicarboxylic acid (5). Derivative 6, with one CONH(naphthy) unit and one succinimid-N-yl ester residue allowed easy access to spirobifluorene clefts with two different H-bonding sites, as exemplified by the synthesis of 4. Binding studies with ( R )and ( S ) -3 and optically active dicarboxylic acids in CDCl, exhibited differences in free energy of the formed diastereoisomeric complexes (d(dCo)) between 0.5 and 1.6 kcal mol-I (T300 K). Similar enantioselectivities were observed with the spirobifluorene clefts (R)and (S)-1, bearing two N-(6-methylpyridin-2-yl)carboxamide (CONH(py)) H-bonding sites. The thermodynamic quantities AH" and AS" for the recognition processes with (R)and (S)-1 were determined by variable-temperature 'H-NMR titrations and compared to those with (R)and (S)-2, which have two CONH(py) moieties attached to the 6,6'-positions of a conformationally more flexible 1,l'-binaphthyl cleft. All association processes showed high enthalpic driving forces which are partially compensated by unfavorable changes in entropy. Pyranosides bind to the optically active clefts 1 and 3 in CDCI, with -AGO = 3.04.3 kcal mol-'. Diastereoisomeric selectivities up to 1.2 kcal mol-' and enantioselectivities up to 0.4 kcal mol-' were observed. Cleft 4 and N-(5,7-dimethyl-1,8-naphthyridin-2-yl)acetamide (25) complexed pyranosides 22-24 as effectively as 3 indicating that only one CONH(naphthy) site in 3 associates strongly with the sugar derivatives. Based on the X-ray crystal structure of 3, a computer model for the complex between ( S ) -3 and pyranoside 22 was constructed. Molecular-dynamics (MI)) simulations showed that differential geometrical constraints are at the origin of the high enantioselectivity in the complexation of dicarboxylic acid (S)-7 by (R)and (5')-1 and ( R )and (S)-3.