A novel simplified structural design as an artificial enzyme for efficient hydrolysis of PNPA

In this study, a novel artificial enzyme Zn(II)-SMM with simple organic structure for PNPA-directed hydrolysis is proposed. The introduction of hydrophobic quinoline and dipyridinium in Zn(II)-SMM system demonstrates high activity for the complexation of Zn 2+ and hydrolysis of PNPA, and the catalytic rate (k cat /k uncat ) exceeds 5239 times that of non-catalytic systems. The newly designed small molecule organic complex effectively binds to and catalyzes the hydrolysis of substrate PNPA in accordance with Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The mechanism with activation by single Lewis acid provides fundamental insights for the development of small molecule hydrolases.