An Enzyme Kinetics Experiment Using Laccase for General Chemistry

This article describes the use of laccase, an oxidoreductase enzyme, to study the effects of enzyme catalysts on reaction rates. The experiment is intended for students in the second semester of the general chemistry sequence. The effects of environmental conditions on enzyme activity are studied by varying pH and by adding an inhibitor of laccase. The effect of substrate structure on enzyme activity is also tested by comparing laccase activity in catechol and syringaldazine solutions. Students perform the experiment using a spectrophotometer and a timer. Enzyme activities are then calculated and compared from the slopes of the time-dependent absorbance changes.