The effect of leaving group tendency in the chymotrypsin-catalysed hydrolysis of aryl acetates
Abstract
The chymotrypsin-catalysed hydrolyses of a number of substituted aryl acetates have been studied. For all the esters with poorer leaving groups the reactions obey simple first-order kinetics. Esters with a 4-nitro-group show ‘burst’ kinetics but this is not the case for esters with equally good leaving groups but no 4-nitro-group. This distinction does not occur when pyridine is the catalyst.