Determination of enzyme activity is crucial for discovery, research, and development in life sciences. The activity of enzymes is routinely determined using spectrophotometric assays that measure rates of substrate consumption or product formation. Though colorimetric-based detection systems are simple, rapid, and economical to perform, the…

In at least two papers published in this "Journal," enzyme free energy diagrams were presented showing enzyme--substrate binding to be nonspontaneous. I present here several different approaches showing that enzyme--substrate binding is "always" spontaneous, and the y-axis of the reaction progress diagrams presented previously…

The inhibition of porcine pancreatic lipase by the drug orlistat was studied through a series of activities that combine experimental and computational procedures. The enzymatic activity of the lipase was determined by measuring enzyme kinetics and calculating parameters such as K[subscript m] and V[subscript max] from experimental data. Assays of…

Enzymes are organic molecules known for their catalytic nature because they accelerate metabolic reactions in organisms. The study of enzyme functions and modes of action is essential to understand Biochemistry. This study aimed to analyse the acetylcholinesterase enzymatic activity, as well as the enzymatic inhibition mechanism in practical…

Enzymes are widely applied in different industries, like pharmaceutical, food, biofuel, and waste valorization. However, the enzyme operating conditions are very limited. So, in most industrial processes, enzymes are not efficient, due to the use of harsh conditions, like organic solvents, extreme pH, and temperature. Immobilization arises as a…

This article describes a comprehensive practical laboratory method for developing an enzyme to more easily measure glyphosate levels in solution. Through this article, undergraduate students of biology majors can conduct research experiments in critical fields by utilizing various techniques, such as chemiluminescence (CL) biosensors with…

We are living in the Big Data era, and yet we may have serious troubles when dealing with a handful of kinetic data if we are not properly instructed. The aim of this paper, related to enzyme kinetics, is to illustrate how to determine the K[subscript m] and V[subscript max] of a michaelian enzyme avoiding the pitfalls in which we often fall. To…

Easy and visually appealing demonstrations are precious tools for introducing students to the study of enzymes. However, they most often involve purified enzymes and dedicated techniques. Here, we propose a set of demonstrations, which require only fresh horseradish root and consumer chemicals, to help support biochemistry and enzymology courses…

A laboratory experiment is described in which students carry out immobilization of the enzyme invertase via entrapment in alginate (Ca-alginate) and, accordingly, estimate values for kinetic constants and mass transfer coefficients. Immobilization of enzymes, or confinement thereof to a defined space with retention of most catalytic activity, is…

Student understanding regarding topics in upper-division courses, such as biochemistry, is not well represented in the literature. Herein we describe a study that investigated students' reasoning about Michaelis-Menten enzyme kinetics and enzyme inhibition. Our qualitative study involved semistructured interviews with fourteen second-year students…

Experimental courses for undergraduate students majoring in biochemistry or related subjects often do not provide students with systematic and research-based experiences. To help students develop abilities related to laboratory techniques, data analysis, and systematic thought in biology, we performed an exploratory program that employs…

A homologous pair of stereospecific NAD-dependent enzymes, (R)- and (S)-hydroxypropyl-coenzyme M dehydrogenase, are part of a bacterial pathway of short-chain alkene and epoxide metabolism. Their discovery and study, which spans multiple publications over more than a decade, is a data rich story that combines both classical and contemporary…

This work seeks to add to the growing body of chemistry education research that emphasizes the teaching and learning of advanced topics, focusing on students' understanding of enzyme kinetics. The data corpus relevant to this study involved 14 second-year undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory biochemistry course taught in a chemistry…

Enzyme kinetics is an essential topic in undergraduate Biochemistry courses. A laboratory work that covers the principal basic concepts of enzyme kinetics in steady state is presented. The alkaline phosphatase catalyzed reaction of phenyl-phosphate hydrolysis was studied as a model. The laboratory experience was designed to reinforce the concepts…

The development of an enzyme-mediated reaction for the first-year general, organic, and biological chemistry (GOB) teaching laboratory is of significant importance so that the factors that affect enzyme-mediated reactions can be adequately demonstrated, reinforcing the lecture portion of the GOB course. Some of the factors that affect these types…