What is Michaelis-Menten kinetics?
Essentially, M-M kinetics describes how an enzyme’s rate of catalysis (turnover rate) changes with concentration of substrate. In general, the enzyme gets faster and faster as substrate is increased but eventually levels off. There is a natural limit to how fast substrate can bind, react, and be released. When substrate levels are low, the “binding” step is the slowest (rate-limiting step). This is first-order kinetics because increasing substrate concentration significantly increases the rate of the reaction. When substrate levels are very high, the reaction and release of the substrate becomes the slowest step. Changes in concentration have no effect on rate. This is zero-order kinetics. 10. What does the Km of an enzyme mean? A: The Km is a measure of the concentration of substrate at which the enzyme is at half of its maximal turnover rate. The Km gives you an idea of the concentration range at which the enzyme is most effective. If the Km is 10 mM, then the enzyme will be going as
