Saturation Kinetics
Definition
Enzyme behaviour at substrate concentrations above the Km, where the rate of metabolism is constant rather than proportional to concentration. Ethanol saturates alcohol dehydrogenase at low millimolar concentrations, which is why an ethanol infusion blocks methanol metabolism.
Related terms
- Anion Gap
- Sodium minus the sum of chloride and bicarbonate in serum. A widened anion gap (above 16) in a comatose patient with unexplained...
- Carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb)
- The compound formed when carbon monoxide binds to haemoglobin at the oxygen-binding site, with an affinity 200-250 times greater than oxygen. Produces...
- Cherry-Pink Lividity
- The bright pink discolouration of dependent tissues seen in CO and cyanide deaths. In CO the colour comes from COHb itself, in...
- Conway Microdiffusion
- A two-chamber glass cell in which an acid in the outer ring liberates HCN from the sample and the gas diffuses into...
- Headspace GC
- Gas chromatography in which the sample (blood, urine, vitreous) is sealed in a vial, equilibrated at a fixed temperature, and a portion...
Explained in
- Gases and Volatile Poisons: CO, Cyanide, Methanol, EthanolEnzyme behaviour at substrate concentrations above the Km, where the rate of metabolism is constant rather than proportional to concentration. Ethanol saturate...