Catechol Oxidase Lab Report

Catechol oxidase is found in animals and plants. Catechol oxidase is the enzyme that catalyzes the production of Ortho- quinone. This reaction produces Ortho- quinone, water, and browning of a potato when exposed to air. The purpose of this experiment was to observe the behavior of reaction rate when enzyme or substrate concentration is changed. The enzyme in this experiment was catechol oxidase, extracted from a potato. In the experiment, when substrate concentration was held constant, and the different enzyme serial dilutions were being tested, the reaction rate was expected reaction rate was expected to increase until all enzymes are saturated, then the reaction rate would level off. First, dilute the enzyme and substrate. After,
place each different dilution in separated spec tubes and inserting them into the Spectronic 20D, data was collected to observe the behavior of the reaction rate according to the enzyme/substrate concentration present. The results concluded that for part one of the experiment, the 1/2 strength was determined to be the optimum dilution, for it had the highest reaction rate. For part two of the experiment, reaction rate increased as enzyme concentration to increase. Also, when enzyme concentration was held constant and the substrate was tested, the increases. Finally, results for part three of the experiment concluded that reaction rate would increase as substrate concentration increases until enzymes reach full saturation yielding the reaction to a fixated constant rate. Overall, the outcome of the experiment concurred with the hypothesis.