Single-molecule force spectroscopy approach to enzyme catalysis.

ABSTRACT: Enzyme catalysis has been traditionally studied using a diverse set of techniques such as bulk biochemistry, x-ray crystallography, and NMR. Recently, single-molecule force spectroscopy by atomic force microscopy has been used as a new tool to study the catalytic properties of an enzyme. In this approach, a mechanical force ranging up to hundreds of piconewtons is applied to the substrate of an enzymatic reaction, altering the conformational energy of the substrate-enzyme interactions during catalysis. From these measurements, the force dependence of an enzymatic reaction can be determined. The force dependence provides valuable new information about the dynamics of enzyme catalysis with sub-angstrom resolution, a feat unmatched by any other current technique. To date, single-molecule forc

SUBMITTER: Alegre-Cebollada J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2885171 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature