Computer Simulation of Enzyme Activity

You will note that for the determination of pH and temperature effects, we established conditions that scanned a wide range of variables. To refine these procedures, we would add more values, for example, temperatures from 30–40°C at steps of 1.0°C or 36–37°C with a step of 0.1°C. This is time-consuming. To establish the principle, however, let’s shift to computer simulation of enzyme activity. Computer simulations will also assist in the rapid accumulation of data for kinetic analysis.

There are several excellent commercial programs available for enzyme kinetic analysis, and use of these must be left to the discretion of the instructor. The author has had excellent results with a rather old Basic program, ENZKIN, which is still available from Conduit.

This is a simple, straightforward, and inexpensive program that is available for Macs and mainframes. It can readily run on other machines with some simple source code changes. Unfortunately, Conduit may not continue supplying this program in the future.

If you do not wish to convert programs, or if you prefer a more sophisticated program, the author recommends ENZPACK Ver. 2.0. In addition to simulation of enzyme kinetics, this program allows data entry with subsequent graphing and analysis. It also allows for high-order kinetic analysis, in addition to Lineweaver-Burk plots.