Catalytic Hydrolysis of Esters of 2-Hydroxypyridine Derivatives for Cu²⁺ Detection

Hydrolysis of activated esters, e.g., picolinic acid and alpha-amino acid esters, in the presence of Cu(2+) salts is a stoichiometric process because products of this reaction bind the catalytic metal ion substantially stronger than starting materials do. Herein we report improved ester substrates, which are cleaved in the presence of catalytic amounts of Cu(2+); 55 turnovers of hydrolysis are observed for the best substrate, acetic acid 2-hydroxypyridine ester. We demonstrate that this reaction can be used for sensitive and selective detection of Cu(2+) by using both absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy.