Nitrophenyl trimethylacetate hydrolysis

Bender and Marshall [J. Am. Chem. Soc., 90 (201), 1968] have studied the enzymatic hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl trimethylacetate by elastase to produce p-nitrophenol. These authors have proposed the following mechanism for this reaction. 

Fig. 21 Rate-pH dependence of the acylation and deacylation steps in the chymotrypsin-catalysed hydrolysis of 4-nitrophenyl trimethylacetate...

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