The Chemistry of Enzyme Action

Few scientists have the knowledge to perform the studies that are necessary to discover and characterize enzyme inhibitors, despite the vested interest the pharmaceutical industry has in this field. Beginning with the most basic principles pertaining to simple, one-substrate enzyme reactions and their inhibitors, and progressing to a thorough treatment of two-substrate enzymes, Kinetics of Enzyme Action: Essential Principles for Drug Hunters provides biochemists, medicinal chemists, and pharmaceutical scientists with numerous case study examples to outline the tools and techniques necessary to perform, understand, and interpret detailed kinetic studies for drug discovery.

Fully updated and expanded-a solid foundation for understandingexperimental enzymology. This practical, up-to-date survey is designed for a broadspectrum of biological and chemical scientists who are beginning todelve into modern enzymology. Enzymes, Second Editionexplains the structural complexities of proteins and enzymes andthe mechanisms by which enzymes perform their catalytic functions.The book provides illustrative examples from the contemporaryliterature to guide the reader through concepts and data analysisprocedures. Clear, well-written descriptions simplify the complexmathematical treatment of enzyme kinetic data, and numerouscitations at the end of each chapter enable the reader to accessthe primary literature and more in-depth treatments of specifictopics. This Second Edition of Enzymes: A Practical Introductionto Structure, Mechanism, and Data Analysis features refinedand expanded coverage of many concepts, while retaining theintroductory nature of the book. Important new featuresinclude: A new chapter on protein-ligand binding equilibria Expanded coverage of chemical mechanisms in enzyme catalysisand experimental measurements of enzyme activity Updated and refined discussions of enzyme inhibitors andmultiple substrate reactions Coverage of current practical applications to the study ofenzymology Supplemented with appendices providing contact information forsuppliers of reagents and equipment for enzyme studies, as well asa survey of useful Internet sites and computer software forenzymatic data analysis, Enzymes, Second Edition isthe ultimate practical guide for scientists and students inbiochemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnical, medicinal, andagricultural/food-related research.

Enzymes are giant macromolecules which catalyse biochemical reactions. They are remarkable in many ways. Their three-dimensional structures are highly complex, yet they are formed by spontaneous folding of a linear polypeptide chain. Their catalytic properties are far more impressive than synthetic catalysts which operate under more extreme conditions. Each enzyme catalyses a single chemical reaction on a particular chemical substrate with very high enantioselectivity and enantiospecificity at rates which approach “catalytic perfection”. Living cells are capable of carrying out a huge repertoire of enzyme-catalysed chemical reactions, some of which have little or no precedent in organic chemistry. The popular textbook Introduction to Enzyme and Coenzyme Chemistry has been thoroughly updated to include information on the most recent advances in our understanding of enzyme action, with additional recent examples from the literature used to illustrate key points. A major new feature is the inclusion of two-colour figures, and the addition of over 40 new figures of the active sites of enzymes discussed in the text, in order to illustrate the interplay between enzyme structure and function. This new edition provides a concise but comprehensive account from the perspective of organic chemistry, what enzymes are, how they work, and how they catalyse many of the major classes of enzymatic reactions, and will continue to prove invaluable to both undergraduate and postgraduate students of organic, bio-organic and medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, biochemistry and biotechnology.