Beta-(1-->6)-linked pseudodi- and pseudotrisaccharides incorporating alternating pseudoamide-type (urea, thiourea, guanidine) intersaccharide bridges have been prepared and evaluated as phosphate binders in water. The monosaccharide subunits induce the Z,Z rotameric form at the pseudoamide segments, thus favoring their participation in bidentate hydrogen-bond interactions with oxoanions. Moreover, the conformational properties about the anomeric C-1-N bonds and the sugar C-5--C-6 bonds privilege orientations that facilitate both the desolvation of the incoming anionic guest and the stabilization of the complex by cooperative interactions. Measurable association constants (K(as)) toward dimethyl and, especially, phenyl phosphate were obtained from NMR titration experiments for both series of glucooligomers, the binding affinity being strongly dependent on the nature of the pseudoamide functionality. Guanidinium derivatives, for which charge neutralization was expected to contribute to phosphate binding, were superior to the neutral thiourea and urea derivatives (K(as) = 48-60 M(-1) for 1:1 complexes with phenyl phosphate dianion). Interestingly, the thiourea oligomers exhibited association constants of the same order of magnitude (K(as) = 25-40 M(-1)), much higher than those observed for the urea analogues (K(as) = 2-3 M(-1)), which is ascribed to a less efficient solvation of the thiocarbonyl derivatives.