Zinc complexes catalysts, water cleavage

Artificial enzymes with metal ions can also hydrolyze phosphate esters (alkaline phosphatase is such a natural zinc enzyme). We examined the hydrolysis of p-nitro-phenyfdiphenylphosphate (29) by zinc complex 30, and also saw that in a micelle the related complex 31 was an even more effective catalyst [118]. Again the most likely mechanism is the bifunctional Zn-OH acting as both a Lewis acid and a hydroxide nucleophile, as in many zinc enzymes. By attaching the zinc complex 30 to one or two cyclodextrins, we saw even better catalysis with these full enzyme mimics [119]. A catalyst based on 25 - in which a bound La3+ cooperates with H202, not water - accelerates the cleavage of bis-p-nitrophenyl phosphate by over 108-fold relative to uncatalyzed hydrolysis [120]. This is an enormous acceleration. 

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