Abstract:
The kinetic differences between the enzymic reactions involving substrates containing heavy hydrogen isotopes are examined. Theoretical estimates and numerous examples of experimentally measured kinetic isotope effects in various enzymic reaction are presented. The kinetic isotope effects are widely used in studies of the mechanisms of enzymic reactions and of the structures of the enzyme–substrate complexes, for the enrichment of labelled compounds in heavy hydrogen isotopes, and also in certain fields of medicine and biochemistry. The bibliography includes 99 references.