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The Effect Of Chloride On Catechol Oxidase Activity

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The effects of NaCl on Catechol Oxidase Activity

Abstract Enzymes quicken chemical reactions in a cell. This experiment was performed in order to determine if adding NaCl to an enzyme would have an effect on the rate of the reaction of the enzyme. It is said that salt inhibits the reaction the reaction rate of enzymes. It can inhibit reactions making the protein unstable or by also messing with the equilibrium constant of the substrate being catalyzed. In our experiment tube 1 consisted of 2.5% NaCl and was the only tube that reacted. This was due to the salt inhibiting all the other reactions. Though it does not effect the enzyme it effects the enzymes activity.

Introduction Enzymes are seen as the “tools” of nature. A fundamental task of proteins is to act as enzymes—catalysts that increase the rate of chemical reactions within cells. Enzymes quicken the rates of reactions by well over a million-fold, so reactions that would usually take years can be done in seconds in the presence of a catalysts. In this experiment the effects on catechol oxidase activity is being tested. Proteins can be denatured by salt concentration being too high. The purpose of our experiment was to determine if the addition of NaCl (salt) solution would have any effect to the rate of reaction of the enzyme. The null hypothesis was that NaCl would have no effect on the rate of reaction of the enzyme. Our hypothesis was that NaCl would speed up of the rate of reaction, due to the

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