The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #109950   Message #2314003
Posted By: Padre
12-Apr-08 - 09:06 PM
Thread Name: (Dubiously) educational songs
Subject: RE: (Dubiously) educational songs
Try Harold Baum's 'The Biochemist's Songbook, with the likes of this:

*** The Michaelis Anthem *** (tune: The Red Flag)

        The substrate changed by an enzyme
        Initially, in unit time
        Varies, if not in excess
        With substrate concentration, [S]
        If enzyme concentration's low
        And reaction back from product's slow
        Then if we choose a steady state
        Velocity and [S] relate.

        This relationship can be derived
        As Briggs and Haldane first contrived:
        The unbound enzyme, [E], we guess
        Is [E0]         (total), less [ES]
        k1[S][E] gives [ES] formation
        and k2[ES], dissociation
        And [ES] gives the product, P,
        At a rate that's [ES] times k3

        When [ES] is at the steady state
        These terms are all seen to relate
        ([E0] less [ES]) times k1[S]
        Equals (k2 + k3) times [ES]
        Now the maximum velocity
        is k3[E0], (or big V)
        These terms can be manipulated
        If one more definition's stated

        Define as Km (just for fun)
        (k2 + k3) on k1
        And note that v (velocity)
        Is always [ES] times k3
        Then rearranging these equations
        We get the final rate equation
        V times [S] on Km + [S]
        is v (initial) - more or less