Competitive inhibitors of carboxypeptidase A, 2-(4-imidazoyl)hydrocinnamic acid (1) and its congeners (2-4) that bear an imidazole ring as the zinc-ligating functionality have been evaluated for their CPA inhibitory activity in the presence of zinc ion to find that the zinc ion augments the inhibitory potency by up to 212-fold.
Department of Chemistry and Center for Integrated Molecular Systems, Division of Molecular Life Sciences, Pohang University of Science and Technology, San 31 Hyojadong, 790-784, Pohang, Republic of Korea.