Control analysis of enzyme mechanisms in terms of the classical steady-state description.

The algebraic rate equations of steady-state enzyme kinetics generally allow the derivation of analytical expressions for the distribution of rate control among the elementary reactions defined by the kinetic mechanism. It is shown that these analytical expressions complete the macroscopic (probabilistic) description of enzyme-catalysed chemical reactions without involving any assumption at the microscopic (molecular) level. By also surveying some directly relevant results of the graph theoretical treatment of enzyme mechanisms, it is shown that control analysis is an integral part of steady-state enzyme kinetics.