Enzyme Assays

Book excerpt: Enzyme assays are among the most frequently performed procedures in biochemistry and are routinely used to estimate the amount of enzyme present in a cell or tissue, to follow the purification of an enzyme, or to determine the kinetic parameters of a system. The range of techniques used tomeasure the rate of an enzyme-catalysed reaction is limited only by the nature of the chemical change and the ingenuity of the investigator. This book describes the design and execution of enzyme assays, covering both general principles and specific chapters.Building upon the highly popular first edition, this book combines revised or rewritten chapters with entirely new contributions. Topics include experimental protocols covering photometric, radiometric, HPLC, and electrochemical assays, along with methods for determining enzyme assays after gelelectrophoresis. The theory underlying each method is outlined, together with a description of the instrumentation, sensitivity and sources of error. Also included are chapters on the principles of enzyme assay and kinetic studies; techniques for enzyme extraction; high- throughout screening;statistical analysis of enzyme kinetic data; and the determination of active site concentration.This second edition of Enzyme Assays will be valuable not only to biochemists, but to researchers in all areas of the life sciences.