Standards for the reporting of kinetic isotope effects in enzymology

Kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) are a powerful tool in the study of enzymatic mechanism and function. Standardization of how data are reported would allow for comparisons of data collected under different conditions, in different laboratories, or by different assays, and will contribute to the assessment of their fit to different models and support of quantitative and qualitative conclusions. This paper will provide suggestions and examples as to how KIE data should be presented in publications of enzyme reaction mechanisms. The importance of following the Standards for the Reporting of Enzymological Data committee׳s recommendations when reporting KIE studies are outlined and a particular focus is placed on procedures for calculating, propagating, and reporting experimental errors. We hope that this paper will be useful for researchers, authors of scientific papers and presentations, and reviewers of these papers alike, and will eventually enhance the impact of KIE studies by assisting in broader application and implications of data.