Abstract
FROM kinetic and other studies of hydrolyses catalysed by enzymes several important conclusions have emerged. One of these, coming particularly from pH studies, is that both an acid (−A−H) and a basic (−B) group are in some way involved in the reaction. A second conclusion is that there are two reaction intermediates, an addition (Michaelis) complex (ES) and an acylated enzyme (ES′), so that the process may be represented as: 
The site that becomes acylated has been a matter of some controversy, both imidazole and serine being possibilities.
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References
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KRUPKA, R., LAIDLER, K. Molecular Mechanisms for Hydrolytic Enzyme Action. Nature 190, 916–918 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1038/190916a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/190916a0
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