Single Molecule Enzymology

对特定酶的单个分子进行的测量表明，不同的单个分子具有不同的性质。这种现象被称为“酶异质性”。已经对几种不同的酶使用了几种不同的实验方法。在所有病例中均观察到异质性。报道的非均相性质包括催化速率、催化活化能和电泳迁移率。申请人实验室研究的长期目标是了解这种异质性的原因和生物学作用。申请人实验室的大部分工作都是使用-半乳糖苷酶或碱性磷酸酶作为模型酶完成的，尽管最近这项工作已扩展到-葡萄糖醛酸酶。这些测定是使用毛细管电泳为基础的方法进行的。

Measurements made on individual molecules of a given enzyme have shown that the different individual molecules have different properties. The phenomenon has been termed ‘enzyme heterogeneity’. Several different experimental approaches have been used on several different enzymes. In all cases heterogeneity has been observed. Reported heterogeneous properties include catalytic rate, activation energy of catalysis and electrophoretic mobility. The long term goal of the research in the applicant’s laboratory is to understand the cause and biological role of this heterogeneity. Most work in the applicant’s laboratory has been done using beta-galactosidase or alkaline phosphatase as model enzymes, although recently this work has been expanded to the enzyme beta-glucuronidase. These assays are performed using a capillary electrophoresis-based approach.