Michaelis-Menten Kinetics

Enzymes bind to their substrates and transform them into products. A plot of the initial reaction velocity versus substrate concentration depicts a rectangular hyperbola. The reaction velocity (v) equals ( V max [A])/( K m  + [A]) as described by the Michaelis-Menten equation where V max is the maximal velocity, [A] is the substrate concentration, and K m is the Michaelis constant, or the substrate concentration at half maximal velocity. Steady-state enzyme kinetics are used to determine the K m value for substrates, the V max value for enzymes, and the K i values for various inhibitors, including drugs.