Enzyme kinetics
![Dihydrofolate reductase from E. coli with its two substrates dihydrofolate (right) and NADPH (left), bound in the active site. The protein is shown as a ribbon diagram, with alpha helices in red, beta sheets in yellow and loops in blue. Generated from 7DFR.](/Images/godic/202502/02/EcDHFR_raytraced4211.png")
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![Progress curve for an enzyme reaction. The slope in the initial rate period is the initial rate of reaction v. The Michaelis–Menten equation describes how this slope varies with the concentration of substrate.](/Images/godic/202502/02/Enzyme_progress_curve.svg4211.png")
![A chemical reaction mechanism with or without enzyme catalysis. The enzyme (E) binds substrate (S) to produce product (P).Saturation curve for an enzyme reaction showing the relation between the substrate concentration and reaction rate.](/Images/godic/202502/02/Enzyme_mechanism_2.svg4212.png")
Enzyme kinetics is the study of the chemical reactions that are catalysed by enzymes. In enzyme kinetics, the reaction rate is measured and the effects of varying the conditions of the reaction are investigated. Studying an enzyme's kinetics in this way can reveal the catalytic mechanism of this enzyme, its role in metabolism, how its activity is controlled, and how a drug or an agonist might inhibit the enzyme.