Zinc Nanobiohybrid-Catalyzed Hydrolysis of N‑Glycosidic Bond of Uridine to Uracil and Derivatives by a Photo-Fenton Oxidation.

In recent years, nanotechnology and nanobiohybrid systems have emerged as powerful platforms for applications in biomedicine, biotechnology, and catalytic chemical synthesis. In this study, a novel photocatalytic strategy was developed for the selective hydrolysis of uridine and uridine-derived substrates into uracil using a zinc-based nanobiohybrid catalyst. Different metal-enzyme nanobiohybrids were evaluated as catalysts for the hydrolysis reaction in aqueous media under mild conditions. Among the materials investigated, Zn-BIC, a nanobiohybrid containing highly crystalline Zn nanoparticles of approximately 5 nm that generate nanochannel-like structures, exhibited the highest catalytic performance and selectivity toward uridine hydrolysis. Using 10 mg of catalyst in the presence of 3% v/v H2O2 at room temperature, Zn-BIC achieved 42% uridine conversion after 1 h, corresponding to 0.42 mmol·h-1. The substrate selectivity of the catalyst was further assessed in the presence of other nucleosides, including deoxyadenosine and thymidine, for which negligible activity was observed, demonstrating the remarkable specificity of the system toward uridine-based substrates. Furthermore, uridine derivatives such as N4-acetylcytidine and uridine monophosphate (UMP) showed outstanding catalytic conversions of 100% (0.68 mmol·h-1) and 68% (6 mmol·h-1), respectively, under the same reaction conditions. Finally, mechanistic studies confirmed the involvement of a photo-Fenton-like pathway in the catalytic process mediated by Zn-BIC.