Intramolecular Catalysis: Carbonyl Groups in Ester Hydrolysis

摘要

Intramolecular catalysis by proximate carbonyl groups has been shown to provide a favourable pathway for ester hydrolysis. Several criteria have been used to establish these pathways. Such reactions have been used as model systems for enzymic catalysis, i.e. the hydrolysis of phosphate and phosphonate esters, sources of the catalytic power of enzymes, and bifunctional reagents as catalysts. The employment of these phenomena can enable novel systems to be designed and pathways to be investigated.