Enzyme Kinetics: Behavior and Analysis of Rapid Equilibrium and Steady-State Enzyme Systems

Most biochemistry texts allot very little space for enzyme kinetics. Usually, there is a brief discussion of Michaelis-Menten single substrate kinetics. Oddly enough, in these days of gender equality, many texts fail to mention that the fathers of kinetics were actually women. This book continues the discussion by providing the basic theories that allow us to access enzyme action. The behavior of enzymes in the presence of various types of inhibitors and the effect of allosteric effectors are also discussed. It also discusses Bi Bi kinetics and gives the beginner a great starting point is the study of enzyme kinetics. All of this is accomplished at a level easily understood by the average biology or chemistry major.

I recently took a graduate course in enzymology and purchased this text as a supplement to my lectures. It proved invaluable as a guide to approach problems in enzyme kinetics. Dr. Segel derives the equations and interprets his graphs for the reader to follow. This is truly comprehensive and authoritative; however it is dry and technical. The author thoroughly describes initial velocity kinetics, multisubstrate kinetics, as well as Cleland kinetics. I would recommend this to students in biochemistry, as well as a reference for those doing work with enzymes.

This technical treasure is the bible of enzyme kinetics. Any enzyme mechanic or kineticist who has somehow missed this little tome does not know what they are missing. My copy is in tatters from freqent use and will have to be replaced soon...

Segel's book is the ultimate in enzyme kinetics. I bought my first copy in 1978 and have probably used it 300 times since then. It deserves an honored place on every biochemists bookself.