The nature of enzyme action / by W.M. Bayliss.

  • William Bayliss
Date:
1911
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The nature of enzyme action / by W.M. Bayliss. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    CATALYSIS IN GENERAL. Bio-chemical Reactions. One of the most striking characteristics of the chemical changes taking place in living organisms is the ease with which bodies of a highly stable nature are split up. Glucose, for example, is oxidised to carbon dioxide and water, egg-white is hydrolysed to amino-acids. Under ordinary laboratory conditions, powerful reagents, such as chromic acid and boiling hydrochloric acid, are necessary to effect these decompositions.1 This fact, which is, of course, familiar to all workers in bio-chemistry, was, at an early date in the history of the science, especially called attention to by Schonbein (142, p. 344). Catalysis. Phenomena of a similar kind are, however, known to chemists to take place in the laboratory, and such reactions are known as “ cata¬ lytic ” reactions. They are increasing in number and importance every day. Oxygen and hydrogen, for instance, at ordinary temperatures combine so slowly that the production of water cannot be detected, the application of a flame or electric spark being requisite. But the pre¬ sence of a minute quantity of finely divided platinum is sufficient to cause combination to take place at room temperature. Again, the oxi¬ dations effected by hydrogen peroxide proceed in many cases at a very slow rate by themselves, but can be enormously accelerated by traces of iron or manganese, as in the well-known method of Benton (62). Another case of interest in connection with enzyme action is the hydrolysis of cane-sugar by acids (ionic hydrogen). The most profitable way of studying the problem before us is to consider first of all the essential characters of catalysis, as manifested by reactions where the bodies concerned are of known chemical com¬ position. 1 Note A at end of book. I
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