Esters esterase

Hydrolysis Alcohol and phenol esters Esterases Alcohols or phenols... 

An exo-linker according to Fig. 10.1 must contain an enzyme labile group R, which is recognized and attacked by the biocatalyst Possible combinations could be phenylacetamide/penicillin amidase, ester/esterase, monosaccharide/glycosid-ase, phosphate/phosphatase, sulfate/sulfatase and peptides/peptidases [41]. The following systems have been worked out (Tab. 10.2). 

Cyclodextrins and their derivatives are already known to catalyse an enormous variety of biochemical and non-biochemical transformations. The basis of the catalysis by native (unmodified) cyciodextrins is the positioning of the reactive secondary hydroxyl groups directly at the entrance to the molecular cavity. One of the most effective reactions catalysed by cyclodextrins is the hydrolysis of aryl and phosphate esters (esterase activity). For example, the rate of hydrolysis of p-nitrophenol esters is increased by factors of up to 750 000 by /TCD. The mechanism of action of the cyclodextrin is shown in Scheme 12.2.1... 

Thus the hydrolytic reactions of biological interest, as far as drugs are concerned, are primarily those of esters and amides. In the case of esters, esterase enzymes in the plasma and liver inactivate (detoxify) a relatively nonpolar molecule by splitting it into two polar and therefore water-soluble components, an alcohol and an acid. Analogously amidase enzymes split amides into acids and amines (or ammonia). Table 3-3 gives several examples of drug hydrolyses. 

The breakdown of triacylglycerol is catalysed by lipases. A large number of such enzymes have been purified from animals, plants and microbes (cf. Brockerhoff and Jensen, 1974). It should be noted that the term lipase is frequently misused. A true lipase is one which attacks triacylglycerols and acts only at an oil-water interface. This definition therefore excludes enzymes acting on water-soluble esters (esterases) or those preferentially hydrolysing other lipids (acyl hydrolases). 

This definition precludes enzymes acting on water-soluble esters (esterases) or those preferentially hydrolyzing other lipids (other acyl hydrolases). 

Intracellular Ca + has been measured by F NMR spectroscopy of intact hearts loaded with the 5,5 -di-fluoro derivative of l,2-bis(o-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N, N -tetraacetic acid (5F-BAPTA) (Figure 5). 5F-BAPTA is loaded into the heart as the cell-per-meant acetoxymethyl (AM) ester. Esterases within the cardiomyocyte hydrolyse the AM ester to the free acid, which, being charged and therefore unable to cross the cell membrane, is trapped within the cell. The calcium-bound and calcium-free 5F-BAPTA species undergo slow exchange resulting in two NMR-visible peaks. The intracellular Ca concentration is... 

LTE4, prostaglandin D2 (PGD2), kinins, kininogenase, and tosyl-L-arginme-methyl ester esterase in nasal secretions (15,16). Several mediators contribute to the symptoms of allergic rhinitis, as summarized in Figure 2. 

Nomenclature. The compound on which the enzyme acts is known as the substrate. The name of the enzyme is now usually obtained by adding the termination ase to the name of the substrate. Thus an enzyme which hydrolyses an ester is known as an esterase. Nevertheless the older names of many enzymes still persist owing to their early disco ieiy. In some cases the name of the enzyme indicates the reaction w hich it catalyses, e.g. oxidase. 

The action of esterases consists essentially in the hydrolysis (or synthesis) of carboxylic acid esters according to the equation ... 

If RCOOH is a comparatively simple organic acid and R OH a monohydric alcohol then the enzyme is called an esterase. Examples of such esters are ethyl butyrate, C3H7COOC2H5, and ethyl mandelate, CeHjCH(OH)COOC2Hj. 

One approach called enzymatic resolution, involves treating a racemic mixture with an enzyme that catalyzes the reaction of only one of the enantiomers Some of the most commonly used ones are lipases and esterases enzymes that catalyze the hydrol ysis of esters In a typical procedure one enantiomer of the acetate ester of a racemic alcohol undergoes hydrolysis and the other is left unchanged when hydrolyzed m the presence of an esterase from hog liver... 

Phosphonothioate Esters of Phenols. Phosphonates with a single P—C bond are highly toxic and persistent iasecticides but have not been used extensively because some compounds produce delayed neuropathy leading to irreversible paralysis ia higher animals, including humans. Such compounds specifically inhibit an enzyme, neurotoxic esterase, that is responsible for the growth and maintenance of long nerve axons (31,32). 

Enzymatic hydrolysis of A/-acylamino acids by amino acylase and amino acid esters by Hpase or carboxy esterase (70) is one kind of kinetic resolution. Kinetic resolution is found in chemical synthesis such as by epoxidation of racemic allyl alcohol and asymmetric hydrogenation (71). New routes for amino acid manufacturing are anticipated. 

Propanidid. Propanidid [1421-14-3] (Epontol), C gH2yNO, (7) a derivative of the propyl ester of homo vanillic acid, has been in clinical use in Europe for a number of years. Its main advantage is rapid onset of action and a fast recovery which, like etomidate, is because of rapid metaboHsm by esterases rather than redistribution (108). Excretion is rapid 75 to 90% of the dmg is eliminated as metaboUtes within two hours. Propanidid side effects include hypotension, tachycardia, and hyperventilation followed by apnea, as well as excitatory side effects such as tremor and involuntary muscle movement (109). 

One limitation of enzyme replacement therapy is the targeting of enzyme proteins to appropriate sites of substrate accumulation. Administration of a cholesterol esterase conjugated to albumin results in the degradation of pathologic cholesterol ester accumulations within the lysosomes of fibroblasts from a patient with cholesterol ester storage disease (246). 

Hydrolytic enzymes such as esterases and Upases have proven particularly useful for asymmetric synthesis because of their abiUties to discriminate between enantiotopic ester and hydroxyl groups. A large number of esterases and Upases are commercially available in large quantities many are inexpensive and accept a broad range of substrates. 

Optically Active Acids and Esters. Enantioselective hydrolysis of esters of simple alcohols is a common method for the production of pure enantiomers of esters or the corresponding acids. Several representative examples are summarized ia Table 4. Lipases, esterases, and proteases accept a wide variety of esters and convert them to the corresponding acids, often ia a highly enantioselective manner. For example, the hydrolysis of (R)-methyl hydratropate [34083-55-1] (40) catalyzed by Hpase P from Amano results ia the corresponding acid ia 50% yield and 95% ee (56). Various substituents on the a-carbon (41—44) are readily tolerated by both Upases and proteases without reduction ia selectivity (57—60). The enantioselectivity of many Upases is not significantly affected by changes ia the alcohol component. As a result, activated esters may be used as a means of enhancing the reaction rate. 

The resolving of a variety of a-substituted carboxyHc acid esters by a previously undescribed enzyme, Candida lipolytica esterase, has been reported (64). a-Methyl-a-amino (49) and a-methyl-a-hydrazino (48) esters, which function as inhibitors of acid decarboxylase enzymes, are obtained on a multigram scale in optically pure form. 

Optically Active Alcohols and Esters. In addition to the hydrolysis of esters formed by simple alcohols described above, Hpases and esterases also catalyze the hydrolysis of a wide range of esters based on more complex and synthetically useful cycHc and acycHc alcohols (Table 5). Although the hydrolysis of acetates often gives the desirable resolution, to achieve maximum selectivity and reaction efficiency, comparison of various esters is recommended. 

Both saturated (50) and unsaturated derivatives (51) are easily accepted by lipases and esterases. Lipase P from Amano resolves azide (52) or naphthyl (53) derivatives with good yields and excellent selectivity. PPL-catalyzed resolution of glycidyl esters (54) is of great synthetic utiUty because it provides an alternative to the Sharpless epoxidation route for the synthesis of P-blockers. The optical purity of glycidyl esters strongly depends on the stmcture of the acyl moiety the hydrolysis of propyl and butyl derivatives of epoxy alcohols results ia esters with ee > 95% (30). 

Pig liver esterase is particularly effective in cleaving one ester of a symmetrical pair. 

The choline ester is prepared by treating the 2-bromoethyl ester with trimethyl-amine. The ester is cleaved with butyrylcholine esterase (pH 6, 0.05 M phosphate buffer, rt, 50-95% yield). As with the morpholinoethyl ester, the choline ester imparts greater solubility to the C-terminal end of very hydrophobic peptides, thus improving the ability to cleave enzymatically the C-terminal ester. ... 

Levofloxacin (6) was enantioselectively obtained by the enzymatic hydrolysis of ofloxacin butyl ester by immobilization of porcine liver esterase (01MI25, 01MI32). 

Because skin exhibits many of the properties of a lipid membrane, dermal penetration can often be enhanced by increasing a molecule s lipophilicity. Preparation of an ester of an alcohol is often used for this purpose since this stratagem simultaneously time covers a hydrophilic group and provides a hydrophobic moiety the ready cleavage of this function by the ubiquitous esterase enzymes assures availability of the parent drug molecule. Thus acylation of the primary alcohol in flucinolone (65) with propionyl chloride affords procinonide (66) the same transform... 

Drugs that are too highly hydrophilic are often absorbed rather poorly from the gastrointestinal tract. It is sometimes possible to circumvent this difficulty by preparing esters of such compounds so as to change their water lipid partition characteristics in order to enhance absorption. Once absorbed, the esters are cleaved by the numerous esterase enzymes in the bloodstream, releasing free drug. 

---