The stability constants of complexes of 12-, 15-, and 18-membered diaza crown ethers, N,N`-dimethyl diaza crown ethers, and N,N`-bis(2-hydroxyethyl) diaza crown ethers with alkali and alkaline-earth metal ions in 95% aqueous methanol at 25oC were determined. The stability of the complexes of unsubstituted diaza crown ethers with alkali metal cations is low, probably because of stabilization of the exo,exo conformation of the ligands due to interaction of the nitrogen lone electron pairs with the solvent. The complexes with the double-charged cations are appreciably more stable. N,N`-Dimethyl diaza crown ethers form stable complexes with all the ions studied. As compared to the dimethyl derivatives, N,N`-bis(2-hydroxyethyl) diaza crown ethers form more stable complexes with the Na + , K + , Ca 2+ , Sr 2+ , and Ba 2+ ions, which is due to participation of the side hydroxyethyl groups in the coordination.Macrocyclic polyethers with side groups containing donor atoms (lariat crown others) can form complexes with a three-dimensional coordination sphere, similar to that in cryptates, since the donor atoms of both the macroring and the side chains can be involved in the coordination. This gives rise to unusual complexing properties, which do not directly correlate with the extent of size matching between the cation and macroring cavity but strongly depend on the structure of side substituents [135]. In this respect, N-hydroxyethyl aza crown ethers are among the most interesting representatives of lariat ethers. In these compounds, the terminal hydroxy groups (or alkoxy groups in the case of N-alkoxyethyl derivatives) usually participate in the coordination with a cation [6 39]. However, despite the fact that a large set of such crown ethers have been studied, their complexing properties have been examined for only a limited number of alkali and alkaline-earth cations (mainly Na + , K + , and Ca 2+ ). The data were obtained in different solvents and by different methods, which prevents a comprehensive analysis of the influence exerted on the complexation by the ring structure and kind of the cation.To find how the substituents at the N atoms affect the complexation and whether the side hydroxyethyl groups participate in the coordination with cations, we studied under identical conditions the interaction of unsubstituted diaza crown ethers I3III, N,N`-dimethyl diaza crown ethers IV3VI, and N,N`-bis(2-hydroxyethyl) diaza crown ethers with alkali and alkalineearth metal ions. For diaza crown ethers I3VI, data are available on the stability constants of the complexes with only a few alkali and alkaline-earth metal ions [10].N,N`-Dimethyl diaza crown ethers IV3VI were prepared by reductive methylation of I3III with formaldehyde in formic acid, following the protocol described in [11] (see scheme).The most common route to N-hydroxyethyl aza crown ethers is the reaction of aza crown ethers with oxirane [12]. It is advisable to perform the reaction in water with a twofold excess of oxirane. The optimal reaction conditions shoul...