Modification of cellulose acetates via sorption-desorption of vapors of mesogenic solvents in which the polymer forms a lyotropic liquid crystal phase and of mixtures of these solvents with water leads to the formation of a new chiral structure of the polymeric sample. This is manifested in a significant change in the value and even sign of the specific optical rotation of the polysaccharide system. The sorbents based on cellulose acetates that have been modified by such treatment exhibit specific affinity for definite optical antipodes. When a racemic mixture of L- and D-isomers of amino acids is passed through this sorbent, it acts as a chiral filter owing to “steric recognition” of one of the enantiomers, so that the filtrate contains an optically pure product (isomer). The revealed effects served as a basis for the development of a new procedure for preparation of optically pure stereoisomers of chiral products.