Discussion
It should be noted that relationships between enzyme kinetics and environmental and biological parameters are complex, (Williams and Jochem, 2006), and the study of catalase kinetics may be a reference to future study, but can not draw out an absolute pattern between enzyme kinetics and factors. Furthermore since different enzymes have different optimum state, the study of the rate of reaction of catalase can be related to some enzymes, but not all. It should be noted that catalase plays an important role the liver (Murugavel and Pari, 2007) as it converts hydrogen peroxide in order to prevent any harmful effects it may cause.
Chemical reactions tend to speed up as the temperature rises because there are more energy to fuel particles to move faster, and increase the chance of finding its enzyme/substrate. However the reaction rate was the slowest (7.1 seconds) when the temperature was 60C. This was because every distinct enzyme has their own optimal temperature at which they work best; this experiment proved that 60C was above catalase’s optimum temperature, thus in the experiment, the catalse denatured and the reaction rate was lowered significantly. The room temperature (27C) enzyme was most efficient, with a reaction rate of only 1.2 seconds which suggested that the optimum temperature for catalse was close to 27C. the low temperature (3C) enzyme reacted within 3.4 seconds, due to its lack of energy to fuel the movement of particles.
Every enzyme has their own optimal pH level of which they work best at. The optimal pH level of catalase should be approximately neutral (pH7), anything more acidic or basic will result in a change of conformation of the catalse and slow down the reaction. However, the study stated that the solution reacted slowest (23 seconds) at pH 7, moderate at pH 3 (20.7 seconds) and fastest at pH 11 (14 seconds). A possible explanation for these results may be mistakes in timing.
If all other conditions are held constant, the rate of the reaction should increase with increasing concentration of enzyme because there are more active sites available for substrate molecules to bind. However, at higher concentration of enzyme the rate will level off because it is limited by the concentration of the substrate. The concentration of enzyme at which the rate of reaction levels off is called the turnover number. However, the results presented in this study indicated that the 90% catalase concentration solution reacted the slowest at 12.4 seconds, the 30% standard in 3.6 seconds, and the less than 1% in 2.9 seconds. A possible explanation of these results may be mistakes in timing.
Further studies can be conducted in this field in order to receive a more thorough understanding of enzyme kinetics. Since different enzymes have different optimum temperature and pH levels, distinct enzymes require distinct study, The study of catalase reaction rate can be only related to some enzymes, but not all. Other helpful studies on enzyme reactions may include the affect of temperature, pH and concentration of enzymes on the changes in colour and texture of the enzyme.
In conclusion, this study let to an insightful analysis between enzyme kinetics and the three factors, temperature, pH and enzyme concentration.
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