PCFenzyme for Kinetic Analyses of Enzyme Reaction Processes

The design and execution of PCFenzyme, software for kinetic analyses of enzyme reaction curves, is described. The software was written in Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0, and combined most methods for kinetic analyses of enzyme reaction curves developed by our group. Signals recorded for substrate or product concentrations during an enzyme reaction, plus necessary information such as the enzyme under test and regular intervals to monitor the reaction curve, were recorded in a text file. Such data in the text file were read into computer memory; the reaction curve was plotted and displayed on the main window of the software. Important parameters and data ranges of the displayed reaction curve were adjustable for analyses. Simulation functions for typical enzyme reactions were included, and the resistance of estimated parameters to variations of data ranges on simulation reaction curves was used to aid the judgment of the reliability of the software. Results are output to the main window and/or a text file if desired. For updating the software, additional subprograms were added and run by “Shell” command in Visual Basic 6.0. This software had promise to be used for enzymatic analyses in clinical laboratories in the future.