Efficient and selective hydrolysis of 4-nitrophenyl phosphate by a dinuclear copper(II) complex

The aim of this work was to construct chemical models for selective hydrolysis of phosphate monoesters in order to elucidate the role of metal ions in the hydrolytic mechanisms and to develop artificial enzymes for practical applications. A dinuclear copper(II) complex of a cyclohexane-based polyamino polyalcohol provided a selective and by far the highest rate acceleration among the transition metal complexes containing divalent metal ions for the hydrolysis of a phosphate monoester.