Oligosaccharides participate in a diverse range of cell-cell interactions including adhesion, signaling, and recognition. Our group is currently engaged in a broad effort to develop metal-based oligosaccharide receptors that can effectively bind specific glycoconjugates. Such molecular species have the potential to inhibit cell-cell recognition events such as tumor cell metastasis and inflammation. As part of this larger project, we are currently investigating the ability of chelate complexes of rhodium (I) and rhodium (III) to effectively bind simple monosaccharides. We have examined the reactions of the Rh(III) bipyridine (bpy) species, cis-[Rh(bpy)₂(DMF)₂]³⁺, as well as the Rh(I) cationic complex [Rh(1,5-cod)(H₂O)₂]⁺ with D-glucose and D-mannose. In both instances the cis-geometry of the weakly coordinating solvent molecules provides open coordination sites for the adjacent hydroxyl groups of the monosaccharides. ¹H and ¹³C NMR, and UV-visible spectral data, will be presented, documenting the extent of metal-saccharide complexation.