Acyloxynitrobenzoic acids are synthetic substrates that can be used to detect the presence of the phospholipase (PLA₂) enzyme, a constituent of snake venom. Previous research has brought to light some of the properties of this enzyme and this current experimental process aims to continue the work in order to fully understand its biochemical properties. Presently, the substrates for analysis are being synthesized (figure 1) using several reaction pathways.  Upon completion of this, the substrates' hydrolysis rate by PLA₂ will be analyzed using UV-visible absorption spectroscopy.