Serum-catalyzed hydrolysis of metronidazole amino acid esters

Glycine (Gly), alanine (Ala), valine (Val), leucine (Leu), isoleucine (Ile), phenylalanine (Phe), and lysine (Lys) esters of metronidazole were synthesized using dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) coupling or a mixed-anhydride route, using tert-butyloxycarbonyl (tert-Boc) amino acids. Human serum-catalyzed hydrolysis of these esters at 37 degrees C give half-lives varying from 4.5 min for the Phe ester to 96 h for the Ile ester. Also determined was the pH-rate profile for hydrolysis in aqueous buffers at 25 degrees C. A linear relationship was observed between the logarithmic value of the hydrolysis rate constant in serum and that of the OH- -catalyzed hydrolysis of cationic esters. This finding may indicate that the esters studied are "equally" poor substrates for binding to the enzymes in serum and, thus, the difference observed in the serum-catalyzed hydrolysis rate is solely derived from the chemical lability of an ester bond. Interestingly, the extent of chemical activation observed in the buffer system appears to be amplified in the serum-catalyzed hydrolysis.