Cyclodextrin-based artificial oxidases with high rate accelerations and selectivity

Three cyclodextrin derivatives with one to four 2-O-formylmethyl groups attached to the secondary rim were prepared and investigated as catalysts for the oxidation of aminophenols in buffered dilute hydrogen peroxide. The derivatives were found to be Michaelis–Menten catalysts and to give rate accelerations of up to 20,000 for the oxidation of 2-aminophenol to 2-amino-phenoxazin-3-one, and 12,000 for the oxidation of 2-amino-p-cresol to 2-nitro-p-cresol. While a range of differently substituted substrates was oxidized the success of the reaction was highly dependent on the substituent pattern. The ability of one of the new artificial enzymes to oxidize selectively one aminophenol from a mixture of two was investigated giving substrate selectivities of up to 16:1.