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Q: please explain ACTIVITY and SPECIFIC ACTIVITY ( No Answer,   1 Comment )
Question  
Subject: please explain ACTIVITY and SPECIFIC ACTIVITY
Category: Science > Biology
Asked by: tedmccall-ga
List Price: $5.00
Posted: 12 Oct 2004 10:16 PDT
Expires: 11 Nov 2004 09:16 PST
Question ID: 413729
Please explain in regards to protein, WHAT DO ACTIVITY and SPECIFIC
ACTIVITY have to do with proteins. Please answer.
Answer  
There is no answer at this time.

Comments  
Subject: Re: please explain ACTIVITY and SPECIFIC ACTIVITY
From: pycnic-ga on 15 Oct 2004 13:57 PDT
 
The short answer is that ACTIVITY refers to an objective measure of
the function of the protein of interest (catalytic, binding etc.)
without directly knowing the amount (mass) of the protein present. 
SPECIFIC ACTIVITY adds the refinement of mass and is usually expressed
as "ACTIVITY" per unit mass (eg. mg)of the PURIFIED protein.

Specific activity applies almost exclusively to enzymes where the
'objective measure' is units of substrate converted to product per
unit time.  Specific activity would express this as units of substrate
converted to product per unit time PER mg OF ENZYME.  From a
determination of specific activity for, for example, the enezyme
catalase, you can calculate that this enzyme can perform 200,000
conversions of its substrate to product in one second.  This cannot be
calculated from ACTIVITY alone.

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