Catalytic efficiency and kcat / KM : a useful comparator?

The ratio kcat / KM – often referred to as the ‘specificity constant’ – is a useful index for comparing the relative rates of an enzyme acting on alternative, competing substrates. However, an alternative description, ‘catalytic efficiency’, is frequently used, and on occasions misused, to compare t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in biotechnology (Regular ed.) 2007-06, Vol.25 (6), p.247-249
Main Authors: Eisenthal, Robert, Danson, Michael J, Hough, David W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Biological and medical sciences
Biotechnology
Computer Simulation
Efficiency
Enzyme Activation
Enzymes
Enzymes - chemistry
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Internal Medicine
Kinetics
Models, Chemical
Sensitivity and Specificity
Substrate Specificity
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The ratio kcat / KM – often referred to as the ‘specificity constant’ – is a useful index for comparing the relative rates of an enzyme acting on alternative, competing substrates. However, an alternative description, ‘catalytic efficiency’, is frequently used, and on occasions misused, to compare the reactivity of two enzymes acting on the same substrate. Here, we highlight the pitfalls in using kcat / KM to compare the catalytic effectiveness of enzymes.
ISSN:0167-7799
1879-3096
DOI:10.1016/j.tibtech.2007.03.010