Construction of a tunable metallohydrolase center on an invertible molecular pocket.

A trimer of cholic acid made by linking three cholic acid molecules with pentaerythritol via click chemistry serves as the center of an artificial metallohydrolase after the complexation of the triazole groups with a Zn(2+) ion. The invertible amphiphilic cavity can respond to the change in polarity of the solvent media and efficiently modulate the catalytic activity of the artificial enzyme.