Phosphate ester hydrolysis displacement reactions

Figure 17-11 Two-step mechanism for phosphate ester hydrolysis. In the first step, substrate binds to the Fe ion, thereby displacing the bond from the -hydroxo ligand to this metal ion. The resulting Fe -coordinated hydroxide serves as the nucleophile in the hydrolysis reaction. The resulting species is a phosphate bridge, the same species observed in x-rays studies of product-inhibited enzyme.

The catalysis of hydrolysis of carboxylic acid derivatives by weak bases has not been carefully studied until relatively recently. Koshland reported in 1952 the catalysis of acetyl phosphate hydrolysis by pyridine Bafna and Gold (1953) reported the pyridine-catalyzed hydrolysis of acetic anhydride. A short time later the catalysis of aromatic ester hydrolysis by imidazole was demonstrated (Bender and Turnquest, 1957 a, b Bruice and Schmir, 1957). Since that time a large amount of work has been devoted to the understanding of catalyzed ester reactions. Much of the work in this area has been carried out with the purpose of inquiry into the mode of action of hydrolytic enzymes. These enzymes contain on their backbone weak potential catalytic bases or acids, such as imidazole in the form of histidine, carboxylate in the form of aspartate and glutamate, etc. As a result of the enormous effort put into the study of nucleophilic displacements at the carbonyl carbon, a fair understanding of these reactions has resulted. An excellent review is available for work up to 1960 (Bender, 1960). In addition, this subject has been... 

Recent work has shown that simple nonlabile mono-aqua metal complexes function as general base catalysts in the hydrolysis of neutral phosphate and phosphonate esters in aqueous solution. If general base catalysis operates the reaction of [Co(NH3)50H] with 4-nitrophenyldiethyl phosphate, then (1 = PNPDEP) will give free diethylphosphonic acid in solution, while direct nucleophilic displacement will give the (diethylphosphate)cobalt(III) cation (2). 

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