Question

Penicillinase, also known as β‑lactamase, is a bacterial enzyme that hydrolyzes and inactivates the antibiotic penicillin. Penicillinase follows simple Michaelis–Menten kinetics and reaches half its maximal rate of 6.8×10−10 µmol⋅min−1 when the penicillin concentration is 5.2×10−6 M. What would happen to the initial reaction velocity, ????0, of penicillinase if the penicillin concentration were 10.4×10−6 M?

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

The given data is as follows.

`V_(max) = 6.8 * 10^(-10) \mu mol/min`

`K_(m) = 5.2 * 10^(-6) M`

Now, according to Michaelis-Menten kinetics,

`V_(o) = V_(max) * [(S)/((S + Km))]`

where, S = substrate concentration =
`10.4 * 10^(-6)` M

Now, putting the given values into the above formula as follows.

`V_(o) = V_(max) * [(S)/((S + Km))]`

`V_(o) = 6.8 * 10^(-10) \mu mol/min * [(10.4 * 10^(-6) M)/((10.4 * 10^(-6)M + 5.2 * 10^(-6) M))]`

`V_(o) = 6.8 * 10^(-10) \mu mol/min * 0.667`

=
`4.5 * 10^(-10) \mu mol/min`

This means that
`V_(o)` would approache
`V_(max)`.