Duration: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Number of students: Up to 32
Target group: Senior secondary students
In this course, upper secondary school students acquire basic skills in biochemical enzyme research. They isolate alcohol dehydrogenase from yeast cells, determine its catalytic activity using UV-VIS spectrophotometry, and investigate Michaelis-Menten kinetics, substrate dependence and inhibition. The course is based on the biology requirements for upper secondary schools in Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg and combines experimental work with current issues in enzyme research and metabolic physiology.
Laboratory activities
- Handling microlitre pipettes and UV-VIS spectrophotometers
- Conducting enzyme kinetics experiments
- Determination of Michaelis-Menten kinetics (Km and vmax)
- Investigation of substrate dependence
- Analysis of enzyme inhibition (competitive, non-competitive)
Relevance to subject requirements
- Understanding of the molecular basis of enzyme function and regulation
- Classification of enzyme kinetic methods in physiological and biotechnological contexts
- Knowledge of the structure-function relationship in enzymes
Recommended prior knowledge
- Structure and function of proteins - Primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure, how enzymes work
- Fundamentals of enzyme kinetics - Substrate-enzyme complex, activation energy, catalytic efficiency
- Michaelis-Menten kinetics - KM value, vmax, enzyme-substrate affinity
- Enzyme inhibition - Competitive and non-competitive inhibition, allosteric regulation
- Fundamentals of spectrophotometry - Lambert-Beer law, absorption, extinction
