Michaelis-Menten constant

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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 1/2Vmax 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).

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