Question

How do calculate km value

Answer 1

How to Calculate Km

Updated April 23, 2018

By Chris Deziel

In biological reactions, enzymes function much like catalysts, providing alternative pathways for reactions to occur and speeding up the overall process. An enzyme works within a substrate, and its ability to increase the velocity of the reaction depends on how well it binds with the substrate. The Michaelis constant, denoted by KM, is a measure of enzyme/substrate affinity. A smaller value indicates tighter binding, which means the reaction will reach its maximum velocity at a lower concentration. KM has the same units as substrate concentration and is equal to the substrate concentration when the velocity of the reaction is at half its maximum value.