Catalytic Reactivity of Phenoxo-Bridged Homobinuclear Copper(II) Complexes With L-Threonine Schiff Bases As a Carboxylesterase Model.

Two novel phenoxo-bridged homobinuclear copper(II) complexes with L-threonine Schiff bases as artificial hydrolases were prepared and screened for catalytic activity in the hydrolysis ofp-nitrophenyl picolinate (PNPP), a classic model of carboxylic acid esters. Kinetic analysis testified that the two complexes exhibited good activity with rate acceleration of two orders of magnitude in aqueous solution. In addition, the one copper(II) complex containing 5’-bromo substituent was much more efficient than its bromo-free analogue, showing approximately 1.1∼5.3 times kinetic advantage over a pH range of 7.00–8.20. [Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition ofSynthesis and Reactivity in Inorganic, Metal-Organic, and Nano-Metal Chemistryfor Figures 1S–3S.] [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]