The enantiomers of alpha-amino-4-bromo-3-hydroxy-5-isoxazolepropionic acid (4-bromohomoibotenic acid, Br-HIBO, 1) a selective and potent agonist at one class of the central (S)-glutamic acid receptors, were prepared with an enantiomeric excess higher than 98.8% via stereoselective enzymic hydrolysis of (RS)-alpha-(acetylamino)-4-bromo-3-methoxy-5-isoxazolepropionic acid (4) using immobilized aminoacylase. The absolute configuration of the enantiomers of Br-HIBO was established by X-ray crystallographic analysis, which confirmed the expected preference of the enzyme for the S form of the substrate 4. (S)- and (RS)-Br-HIBO were potent neuroexcitants on cat spinal neurones in vivo, while (R)-Br-HIBO was a very weak excitant. Correspondingly, the S enantiomer of Br-HIBO (IC50 = 0.34 microM) was considerably more potent than the R form (IC50 = 32 microM) as an inhibitor of [3H]-(RS)-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid ([ 3H]AMPA) binding to rat brain synaptic membranes in vitro. In contrast, (S)- and (R)-Br-HIBO were approximately equipotent (IC50 values of 0.22 and 0.15 microM, respectively) as inhibitors of [3H]-(S)-glutamic acid binding in the presence of CaCl2. The enantiomers of Br-HIBO showed no significant affinity for those binding sites on rat brain membranes which are labeled by [3H]kainic acid or [3H]-(R)-aspartic acid.