Hydrolytic

Hydrolytic is an adjective relating to hydrolysis, a chemical reaction in which water is used to cleave chemical bonds. Hydrolytic processes involve the addition of water across a bond, yielding two or more products.

In organic chemistry, hydrolysis reactions include ester hydrolysis (to carboxylic acid and alcohol), amide hydrolysis (to carboxylic acid and amine), and phosphate ester hydrolysis (to phosphoric acid and alcohol). Some bonds such as glycosidic linkages in carbohydrates are hydrolyzed by acids or enzymes, producing sugars.

Biology uses hydrolytic enzymes, or hydrolases, to catalyze targeted bond cleavage. Examples include proteases that degrade proteins, lipases that cleave fats, amylases that digest starch, nucleases that break nucleic acids, and phosphatases that remove phosphate groups. In digestion, these enzymes enable nutrient release.

In materials science, hydrolytic degradation refers to polymer breakdown by water, which can affect plastics such as polyesters and polyamides. Hydrolytic stability is a key consideration in storage and use. In pharmacology, hydrolysis can activate or deactivate drugs; prodrugs may be designed to hydrolyze in vivo, and aspirin hydrolyzes to salicylic acid and acetic acid.

Etymology: from Greek hydro- "water" and lysis "to loosen". See also hydrolysis and hydrolase.