Back to category: Science

Limited version - please login or register to view the entire paper.

The Effects of Enzyme and Substrate Concentrations on the Reaction Rate of Catechol and Catechol Oxidase

Introduction
In this experiment, we intended to investigate the effect of the concentration of catechol oxidase on the reaction rate of catechol to orthro-quinone. Living things, to increase the speed of chemical reactions, use enzymes. Enzymes are a type of protein. Because of the fact that enzymes are proteins, they have certain shapes. These shapes create areas in which the substrate, the chemical that is broken down by the enzyme, can fit in and be broken down. The way that this reaction takes place is shown in the enzyme-substrate complex model. The model in question reads:
Enzyme + Substrate(s) à Enzyme-Substrate Complex -à Enzyme + Products
From this model, it can be determined that if there is a way of measuring the amount of product produced that one can detect the reaction rate. In this experiment, Catechol was the substrate, and it was reacted with catechol oxidase to produce ortho-quinone. Catechol Oxidase, which is the enzyme that was used, was derived from potatoes. ...

Posted by: Justin Rech

Limited version - please login or register to view the entire paper.