Arylesterase

In enzymology, an arylesterase is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction


 * a phenyl acetate + H2O $$\rightleftharpoons$$ a phenol + acetate

Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are phenyl acetate and H2O, whereas its two products are phenol and acetate.

This enzyme belongs to the family of hydrolases, specifically those acting on carboxylic ester bonds. The systematic name of this enzyme class is aryl-ester hydrolase. Other names in common use include A-esterase, paraoxonase, and aromatic esterase. This enzyme participates in bisphenol a degradation.

Structural studies
As of late 2007, two structures have been solved for this class of enzymes, with PDB accession codes and.