La Trobe University Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering Murray Darling Freshwater Research CentreMDFRC item.The synthesis and characterization of new mixed-donor macrocyclic ligands incorporating nitrogen, sulfur and/or oxygen heteroatoms are described. The new 17- or 18-membered macrocyclic rings contain unsymmetrical arrangements of their heteroatoms in contrast to related, previously reported rings in which the donor sets are arranged symmetrically. The X-ray structures of the 17-membered rings incorporating N4O- and N4S-donor sets are presented.