Bis(boronic acids) have been widely used in the development of chemosensors for sugars, most importantly glucose. We have previously reported that bis(boronates) have an even higher affinity for bis(a-hydroxycarboxylates) such as tartrate than for simple bis(diols) like erythritol.[1] We will look at the design of novel boronate-based receptors for a-hydroxyacids and inositols[2], an important class of cell-signalling molecules. The affinity of boric and boronic acids for a-hydroxycarboxylates has also been shown to catalyze esterification of these species and this reaction is applicable to carbohydrates.