Understanding Enzyme Reaction Rates
The rate of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction is a measure of how quickly a substrate is converted to product by an enzyme. This is fundamental to biochemistry and molecular biology.
Introduction
Enzymatic activity measures the catalytic efficiency of enzymes, which are biological molecules that accelerate biochemical reactions. Understanding enzyme kinetics is crucial for drug development, biotechnology, and metabolic studies.
History
Enzyme activity was first observed in the 19th century with studies on fermentation. The quantitative study of enzyme kinetics began with Michaelis and Menten in 1913, establishing fundamental principles still used today.
Key Units
Katal (kat)
The SI unit of enzymatic activity, defined as the amount of enzyme that catalyzes one mole of substrate per second.
Enzyme Unit (U)
A traditional unit defined as the amount of enzyme that catalyzes one micromole of substrate per minute under standard conditions.
International Unit (IU)
Similar to enzyme unit, widely used in clinical and research applications.
Applications
- Clinical diagnostics and medical testing
- Biotechnology and industrial processes
- Food and beverage production
- Pharmaceutical drug development
- Environmental monitoring and bioremediation
Michaelis-Menten Equation
v = (Vmax × [S]) / (Km + [S])Reaction velocity (v) depends on maximum velocity (Vmax), substrate concentration [S], and Michaelis constant (Km).