Page 201 - The Manga Guide to Biochemistry
P. 201
As you get closer to Vmax, the reaction rate measurements start to bunch up close
together.
Hmmm...
Vmax
Reaction rate (pmol/hour)
Substrate concentration (µM)
Eventually, the measurements are very close together, and the results just aren’t
precise enough to show us exactly where the rate maxes out.
Doesn’t it seem like the rate just keeps climbing a tiny bit at a time but never gets
to Vmax?
Yeah, it does, but there has to be a way to get around this problem, right?
Of course. We just have to change our way of thinking! For instance, suppose we let
the substrate concentration increase more and more, all the way to...infinity!
Hmm...if the substrate concentration were infinite, the measurement result would
have to be...Vmax!
Enzymes Are the Keys to Chemical Reactions 187
