A probabilistic view on steady-state enzyme reactions.

A new theoretical description of steady-state enzyme reactions is proposed. The description is based on the concepts of the probability theory instead of the conventional formalism of chemical kinetics. A general steady-state rate equation is obtained using a probabilistic model of the catalytic act. As a result, the classical problems of enzyme kinetics can be formulated and considered in a different aspect. It is shown that the new theory presents a clearer treatment of some commonly obscure questions, such as the steady-state establishment. The theory also gives additional possibilities in the interpretation of the experimental results of traditional methods and proposes certain new ways in experimental investigations of enzymes.