Footprint catalysis. II. Molecular recognition of footprint catalytic sites.

In order to investigate the molecular recognition capability of “footprint” catalytic sites, the affinities of nine “footprint” catalysts for eleven competitive inhibitors, closely related to template molecules, were estimated through the competitive inhibition constants, Ki. An examination of the affinity revealed that the recognition by “footprint” catalytic sites was so highly specific that it could recognize not only the whole, but also the partial, structures of the bound molecules.