Continuous assay for acid phosphatase using 1-naphthyl phosphate as a substrate.

The described continuous acid phosphatase assay is based on kinetics of the release of 1-naphthol in the course of the enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis of 1-naphthyl phosphate, measured at 320 nm in aqueous solution and at 322 nm in sodium-bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate isooctane-water reverse micelles in a broad pH range (1.0-8.2). The method allows precise determination of the initial rate of the reaction and therefore may be used in the steady-state and pre-steady-state studies on the phosphatase-catalyzed reaction. The kinetic parameters (Km and kcat) for human prostatic acid phosphatase in aqueous solution and in reverse micelles, at pH 3.8, 4.5 and 5.7, by the proposed 1-naphthyl phosphate assay have been determined.