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Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis

Michaelis–Menten Kinetics

The standard model of enzyme kinetics, in which rate rises with substrate concentration until the enzyme becomes saturated.

Formula / equation v = V_max[S] / (K_m + [S])
Unit mol/(L·s)

In depth

At low substrate concentration the reaction is first order, while at high concentration it becomes zero order as every active site is occupied. The Michaelis constant K_m is the concentration giving half-maximal rate and serves as an inverse measure of the enzyme's affinity for its substrate.

Examples in the real world

A Lineweaver–Burk double reciprocal plot giving a straight line whose intercepts yield V_max and K_m.