Michaelis-Menten enzyme, free energy

Carrier-mediated passage of a molecular entity across a membrane (or other barrier). Facilitated transport follows saturation kinetics ie, the rate of transport at elevated concentrations of the transportable substrate reaches a maximum that reflects the concentration of carriers/transporters. In this respect, the kinetics resemble the Michaelis-Menten behavior of enzyme-catalyzed reactions. Facilitated diffusion systems are often stereo-specific, and they are subject to competitive inhibition. Facilitated transport systems are also distinguished from active transport systems which work against a concentration barrier and require a source of free energy. Simple diffusion often occurs in parallel to facilitated diffusion, and one must correct facilitated transport for the basal rate. This is usually evident when a plot of transport rate versus substrate concentration reaches a limiting nonzero rate at saturating substrate While the term passive transport has been used synonymously with facilitated transport, others have suggested that this term may be confused with or mistaken for simple diffusion. See Membrane Transport Kinetics... 

Michaelis-Menten equation shows that the enzyme reactions in certain regions can be approximated by linear kinetics. Stucki (1984) demonstrated that variation of the phosphate potential at constant oxidation potential yields linear flow-force relationships in the mitochondria. Through linear flow-force relationships, cells may optimize their free energy production and utilization by lowering their entropy production and hence exergy losses at stationary states. 

Results of our analysis indicate that any Michaelis-Menten type of enzyme has the ability to become a free energy transducer under certain specified conditions (14). In the absence of an electric field, reaction 9 is a facilitated membrane transport system that is, the transporter, T, can carry the substrate S across the membrane from the compartment with higher concentration of S (out) to the compartment with lower concentration of S (in). However, when an ac field is turned on, T can pump S from in to out, up the concentration gradient. 

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