Handbook of Synthetic Substrates

• I. Basic enzymology.- I. 1. Introduction.- I. 2. Maximal velocity.- I. 3. Michaelis constant.- I. 4. Low substrate concentration; the efficiency of an enzyme.- I. 5. High substrate concentration; the saturation curve.- I. 6. The characteristic parameters of an enzymatic reaction.- I. 7. Enzyme inhibition.- I. 8. Rate-constants and enzymatic mechanism.- I. 9. The reaction mechanism of serine proteases.- 1.10. Transient state kinetics.- 1.11. Data from a reaction going to completion.- 1.12. Active site titration.- 1.13. Simultaneous reactions in complicated reaction mixtures.- II. Measuring the conversion of a chromogenic substrate.- II. 1. Photometric assays.- II. 2. Absorption spectrophotometry.- II. 3. Choice of wavelength and absorbancy range.- II. 4. Temperature.- II. 5. The reaction medium.- II. 6. Substrate solution.- II. 7. Methodology.- II. 8. Execution of the experiment.- II. 9. Fluorescence.- II.10. Electrochemical determinations.- III. Substrates.- III.1. Specificity in serine proteases.- III.2. Substrate selectivity and sensitivity.- III.3. Inhibition by artificial substrates.- III.4. Data on commercially available substrates.- III.5. Fluorogenic substrates.- III.6. General principles of fluorogenic peptide substrates with 7-amino-4-methylcoumarine (MCA) as a leaving group.- III.7. Thioesters.- III.8. Substrates for electrochemical determinations.- III.9. Luminogenic substrates.- IV. Determinations that can be carried out with chromogenic substrates.- IV. 1. Thrombin and derived determinations.- IV.2. Factor Xa and derived determinations.- IV.3. Determination of fibrinolytic pathway components in plasma.- IV.4. The contact activation system.- IV.5. Miscellaneous determinations.- Bibliography of synthetic substrates (as available Fall 1982).- Index of subjects.

'We believe that this book will contribute to a better understanding of the advantages and drawbacks of the use of synthetic substrates and that this will result in the advancement of our knowlegde on the mechanisms of thrombosis and hemostasis. The book thus serves its purpose.' Haemostasis (1983) 'This handbook presents a concise account of the newly introduced synthetic peptide substrates and their applications in the testing of coagulation parameters. ... It is worth having as a reference in any laboratory working on synthetic substrates.' Clinical Chemistry, 30:1 (1984)