Kinetic enzyme assay

Temperature Control. While it was well known that enzyme catalysis is a direct function of temperature, little attention was paid to its control in kinetic enzyme assays until the pioneer work of Schneider and Willis (11). These workers showed that the temperature compartment of the Beckman DU spectrophotometer varied widely as a function of room temperature and of the number of times the cuvet compartment was opened. Thus, while most authors have assumed that they were conducting their assay at room temperature (i.e., a nominal 25 ) direct measurements showed that the cuvette temperature was closer to 32 C. Schneider and Willis suggested that thermospacers, hollow plates adjacent to each side of the cuvette compartment through which water at a constant temperature is circulated, be used in order to standardize clinical enzyme assay temperatures. 

Kinetic enzyme assays are designed to measure the velocity of the reaction. 

Spectrophotometry at 340 nm lends itself to kinetic enzyme assays BECAUSE... 

Ludvigsen CW, Thurn JR, Pierpont GL, Eckfeldt JH. Kinetic enzymic assay for D(-)-lactate, with use of a centrifugal analyzer. Clin Chem 1983 29 1823-5. 

The accuracy needed in the measurement of absorbances is related inversely to the measuring interval. The DuPont acauses a 17-sec measuring time for kinetic enzyme assays. Thus for a specimen with an AST activity of 20 U/L and measured using NADH in the indicator reaction, then the absorbance change in 17 sec is only 0.035 A units. A trivial error of 0.004 A introduces an 11% error. Clearly, highly accurate spectrophotometry is needed here and in other automated enzyme analyzers that use very short measuring intervals. 

Russell, C. D. Cotlove, E. Serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase Evaluation of a coupled-reaction enzyme assay by means of kinetic theory. Clin. Chem. (1971), 17, 1114-1122. 

In carrying out an enzyme assay it may be convenient to introduce an auxiliary enzyme to the system to effect the removal of a product produced by the first enzymatic reaction. McClure [Biochemistry, 8 (2782), 1969] has described the kinetics of certain of these coupled enzyme assays. The simplest coupled enzyme assay system may be represented as... 

A very versatile piece of equipment that is affordable for individual laboratories is the microplate reader. This allows multiple samples to be analyzed at once, commonly in a 96-well format, although 384- and 1536-well formats are available. Typical measurements that can be performed include UV-Vis absorbance, fluorescence, or luminescence, allowing a range of assays to be performed, such as cell growth, enzyme kinetics, enzyme stability, or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [60-62]. Functionality can be increased by the use of liquid dispensing systems or automatic plate handling. 

Enzyme assays—both kinetic and end-point radiocoordination of proteins, lipid assays, receptor binding assays and tissue-culture techniques... 

Theory The method of LDH assay is based on kinetic analysis. In a kinetic enzymatic assay a unit of enzyme activity is defined as the quantity of enzyme that brings about a certain absorbance increase in 30 seconds or 1 minute at a fixed temperature (for instance 25 0.2°C) ... 

Experimental studies on the effect of substrate concentration on the activity of an enzyme show consistent results. At low concentrations of substrate the rate of reaction increases as the concentration increases. At higher concentrations the rate begins to level out and eventually becomes almost constant, regardless of any further increase in substrate concentration. The choice of substrate concentration is an important consideration in the design of enzyme assays and an understanding of the kinetics of enzyme-catalysed reactions is needed in order to develop valid methods. 

Table 8.3 Examples of kinetic spectrophotometric methods of enzyme assay... 

Coupled enzyme assays provide a good alternative to chemical modification and permit a kinetic technique to be employed. In a coupled assay, the rate at which the product is formed is measured by using the product of the reaction as a substrate for a second enzyme reaction which can be monitored more easily. Coupled assays offer great flexibility in enzyme methodology while still retaining all the advantages of continuous monitoring techniques and are illustrated by Procedure 8.5. 

Direct kinetic methods comparable to those used for enzyme assays are generally feasible only with automated instrumentation because of the difficulty in measuring the rapidly falling reaction rate as the low concentration of substrate is further depleted. 

Henderson PJR 1993. Statistical analysis of enzyme kinetic data. Enzyme assays. A practical approach. Eisenthal R, Danson MJ, editors. Oxford Oxford University Press pp. 277-316. 

Figure 6. HPLC kinetics of polygalacturonic acid depolymerization by extracellular pectate lyases from crude supernatants of Erwinia chrysanthemi and Lachnospira multiparus cultures. A panels are full scale representations of products found over the reaction time sequence. B panels have expanded ordinates to better demonstrate the kinetics of minor products. Area unit refers to integration from HPLC tracings of product absorbance at 235 nm. Numbers in the panels refer to the degree of polymerization for individual products. Conditions for enzyme assay and product detection were the same as described for Figure 5.

Occasionally, one can increase the Ae by utilizing alternative substrates. For example, 3-acetyl-NAD or thio-NAD can often be used with NAD -dependent dehydrogenases. Note however that an alternative substrate may change the kinetic mechanism, as compared to that observed with the naturally occurring substrate. Alternative substrates are of particular value when the normal substrate(s) and product(s) do not efficiently absorb UV or visible light. For example, many p-nitroaniline or p-nitrophenyl derivatives have proved to be quite useful in enzyme assays because they exhibit intense absorption around 410 nm. 

The velocity of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction can be measured either by a continuous assay or by a stopped-time protocol. Whenever possible, the continuous measurement of a velocity (e.g., the increase or decrease in absorbance vx. time) should be utilized. In stopped-time assays, the investigator must demonstrate that the reaction is completely terminated at the specified point in time and that products are readily and quantitatively separated from substrates. In addition, one must show that the system is under initial rate conditions. Thus, at least three or four different time points should be chosen. Stopped-time assays also require an assay blank (for t = 0). In this blank, typically the quenching conditions are applied prior to the initiation step. Whenever practicable, replicate kinetic analyses should be done, even with continuous assay protocols. See Enzyme Assay Methods Basal Rate... 

McClure was among the first to treat the kinetics of coupled enzyme assays, and others have discussed essential aspects of experimental design. Rudolph et al provided an extensive list of coupled-enzyme assays for selected enzyme reaction products, and several examples are shown in Table I. 

Easterby proposed a generalized theory of the transition time for sequential enzyme reactions where the steady-state production of product is preceded by a lag period or transition time during which the intermediates of the sequence are accumulating. He found that if a steady state is eventually reached, the magnitude of this lag may be calculated, even when the differentiation equations describing the process have no analytical solution. The calculation may be made for simple systems in which the enzymes obey Michaehs-Menten kinetics or for more complex pathways in which intermediates act as modifiers of the enzymes. The transition time associated with each intermediate in the sequence is given by the ratio of the appropriate steady-state intermediate concentration to the steady-state flux. The theory is also applicable to the transition between steady states produced by flux changes. Apphcation of the theory to coupled enzyme assays makes it possible to define the minimum requirements for successful operation of a coupled assay. The theory can be extended to deal with sequences in which the enzyme concentration exceeds substrate concentration. 

The results indicate that brain hexokinase does indeed operate by way of a sequential kinetic mechanism, and subsequent kinetic studies with reversible inhibitors support this conclusion. These comments reinforce the wisdom of remaining wary of mechanistic inferences drawn solely on the basis of initial rate studies alone. See also Initial Rate Enzyme Assays... 

If an enzyme assay involves continuous monitoring of substrate or product concentration, the assay is said to be kinetic. If a single measurement of substrate or product concentration is made after a specified reaction time, a fixed-time assay results. The kinetic assay is more desirable because the time course of the reaction is directly observed and any discrepancy from linearity can be immediately detected. 

The conditions used in an enzyme assay depend on what is to be accomplished by the assay. There are two primary applications of an enzyme assay procedure. First, it may be used to measure the concentration of active enzyme in a preparation. In this circumstance, the measured rate of the enzyme-catalyzed reaction must be proportional to the concentration of enzyme stated in more kinetic terms, there must be a linear relationship between initial rate and enzyme concentration (the reaction is first order in enzyme concentration). To achieve this, certain conditions must be met (1) the concentrations of substrate(s), cofactors, and other requirements must be in excess (2) the reaction mixture must not contain inhibitors of the enzyme and (3) all environmental factors such as pH, temperature, and ionic strength should be controlled. Under these conditions, a plot of enzyme activity (p-rnole product formed/minute) vs. enzyme concentration is a straight line and can be used to estimate the concentration of active enzyme in solution. 

Second, an enzyme assay may be used to measure the kinetic properties of an enzyme such as Ku, Vmax, and inhibition characteristics. In this situation, different experimental conditions must be used. If Ku for a substrate is desired, the assay conditions must be such that the measured initial rate is first order in substrate. To determine Ku of a substrate, constant amounts of enzyme are incubated with varying amounts of substrate. A Lineweaver-Burk plot (1/v vs. 1/[S]) or direct linear plot may be used to determine Ku and V. If a reaction involves two or more substrates, each must be evalu-... 

The presence or absence of an enzyme is typically determined by observing the rate of the reaction(s) it catalyzes. Quantitative enzyme assays are designed to measure either the total amount of a particular enzyme (or class of enzymes) in units of moles or, more commonly, the catalytic activity associated with a particular enzyme. The two types of assays differ in that those in the latter category measure only active enzyme. The assays contained in this section are concerned primarily with the measurement of catalytic activity, or active enzyme. The assays are based on kinetic experiments, as activities are calculated from measured reaction rates under defined conditions. The basic Premise for these assays is that the amount of enzyme in a reaction mi xture can be determined from the rate at which the enzyme-catalyzed reaction occurs. 

The reducing sugar-based assay is intended to provide initial velocity kinetics. This means that the analyst must establish, for all experimental permutations, that initial rates are indeed being measured. These topics, as well as other information related to the design of enzyme assays, are discussed in unitcu. 

This text covers the design and execution of enzyme assays. Chapters I. 9. and 11 ( Principles of enzyme assay and kinetic studies, Techniques of enzyme extraction," and Buffers and the determination of protein concentration," respectively) are particularly relevant to this unit. 

Enzyme assays As shown previously the LMW fraction had a repressing effect on the protein digestion in the in vivo experi-ment. Accordingly, it was of interest to study in vitro the effect of this fraction on the kinetics of reactions catalyzed by proteases and peptidases present in the gastro-intestinal tract. 

Routine qualitative and quantitative biochemical analysis including many colorimetric assays. Enzyme assays, kinetic studies, and difference spectra. 

P 75] A static enzyme assay experiment was carried out using a stopped-flow method [161]. This is commonly used for monitoring reaction kinetics. P-Galacto-sidase was used as model enzyme to convert the substrate fluorescein mono-p-D-galactopyranoside (FMG) via hydrolysis into fluorescein. As buffer solution 10 mM potassium phosphate at pH 7.2 with 1 mM ascorbic acid was used to minimize photobleaching. The enzymatic reaction is accompanied by a change in fluorescence intensity which can be monitored with a microscope. 

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