HOMEWORK 6
BIOL/CHEM 5310
due Tuesday, October 22, 2002


Show your work.

1. VVP , Chapter 11, page 321, problems 2, 5, 8, 10, 13.

2. Draw the chemical structure of the sarin-inhibited serine residue of acetylcholine esterase (see p.308).

3. Studies have shown that a particular enzyme has a catalytic residue with a pK_a value of 4.5. What is the most likely amino acid(s) to have this pK_a? If the enzyme has high activity at pH 7, draw the structure of the active form of the amino acid residue. Is it more likely to function as a general acid or as a general base?

4. If the DG^‡ for an enzyme-catalyzed reaction is 4.0 kJ/mol, and the rate enhancement by the enzyme is 10⁶, what would be the DG^‡ for the uncatalyzed chemical reaction (at 25°C) ?

5. Answer the three questions about the structures of trypsin and subtilisin in the <link>.

Last updated Monday, October 7, 2002

Comments/questions: svik@mail.smu.edu

Copyright 2002, Steven B. Vik, Southern Methodist University