Michaelis-Menten constant
The Michaelis-Menten describes and enzyme reaction and is as follows:
V= Vmax[S]/Km[S]
V = is the rate of the reaction
Vmax = is the maximal rate of the reaction
Km = the concentration at which Vmax is 1/2
Using the Km, this equation is useful to tell the affinity an enzyme has for its substrate. If the Km is high, this means the concentration at which 1/2 Vmax is reached is high, so the affinity the enzyme has for its substrate is low (because a lot of substrate is needed to reach 1/2 Vmax). If Km is low, this means the affinity is high, because less substrate was needed to get to half the maximal rate of the reaction (Vmax) [1].
References
- ↑ Down, J.E and Riggs, D.S. 1965, A comparison of estimates of Michaelis-Menten kinetic constants from various linear transformations. The Journal of Biological chemistry. 240 (2),