hydrolyze

Hydrolyze is a verb describing a chemical process in which a molecule is cleaved into two parts by reaction with water. The corresponding noun hydrolysis refers to the reaction itself. In chemistry, hydrolysis often involves breaking esters, amides, anhydrides, or ethers, with water acting as a nucleophile. In biochemistry, hydrolysis is a common reaction catalyzed by hydrolase enzymes, including proteases, lipases, amylases, and nucleases.

Mechanism and scope: Water donates a proton or acts as a nucleophile; reactions are typically accelerated by acids, bases, or enzymes. Acid hydrolysis uses protonation of a leaving group to increase water attack; base or alkaline hydrolysis (saponification) uses hydroxide to attack, yielding carboxylate salts and alcohols. Enzymatic hydrolysis occurs under physiological conditions and is highly specific for substrate and bond type.

Examples: Ester hydrolysis produces a carboxylic acid and an alcohol; amide hydrolysis produces a carboxylic acid and an amine. Peptide bond hydrolysis yields amino acids; sucrose hydrolysis yields glucose and fructose (via acid or the enzyme invertase). Nucleotide phosphodiester bonds are hydrolyzed by nucleases. ATP hydrolysis cleaves ATP to ADP and inorganic phosphate; water participates in the reaction.

Applications and significance: Hydrolysis reactions are essential for digestion and metabolism, polymer degradation and recycling, and many chemical synthesis and analysis workflows. Conditions such as pH and temperature influence rate and outcome, and enzymes often provide high specificity and milder conditions compared with nonenzymatic hydrolysis.