[Enzymatic conversion of polymers. Nature of apparent product inhibition in the course of enzymatic degradation of polymer substrates].

The general regularities for the kinetics of enzymatic conversion of polymers were studied. It was proposed that the formal kinetic analysis of progress kinetic curves for enzymatic degradation of polymers inevitably results in the apparent effects of product inhibition, even in the case when the products are not virtually bound to the enzyme and there is no real product inhibition at all. An experimental verification of this hypothesis was performed, using maltodextrins hydrolysis by Aspergillus niger glucoamylase as an example. It was shown that a progressive decrease of the enzyme reactivity with respect to a polymer substrate in the course of its degradation is kinetically equivalent to a progressive decrease of the velocity of an enzymatic reaction due to the product inhibition. These two cases cannot practically be distinguished by conventional methods of analysis of progress kinetic curves.