Cycloamylose-accelerated cleavage of acylimidazoles

Hydrolyses of N-trans-cinnamoylimidazole (1) and N-acetylimidazole (2) were accelerated by cyclohexaamylose (α-CA) and cycloheptaamylose (β-CA) at 25°C. The cleavage of the amide bond in 1 at pH 9.0 was accelerated by α-CA and β-CA by 28- and 38-fold, respectively, whereas the cleavage of the amide bond in 2 at pH 7.0 was accelerated by α-CA and β-CA by 50- and 28-fold, respectively. The β-CA-accelerated hydrolysis of 1 proceeded via binding, acylation of β-CA, and deacylation of β-CA trans-cinnamate, which is consistent with the pathway used by serine proteases. The deuterium oxide solvent isotope effects for acylation and deacylation steps indicate nucleophilic attack in acylation and general basic attack in deacylation. The present finding of the acceleration by cycloamyloses in the cleavages of amide bonds in 1 and 2 indicates that cycloamyloses are an excellent model for hydrolytic enzymes.