Book Review

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Enzyme Assays, 2^nd edition

R. Eisenthal and M. J. Hanson, Practical Approach series, no. 257, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002, pp. 282 + xix, price GBP75, ISBN 0-19-963821-7 Search PubMedThis book is a second edition of the text on enzyme assays in the Practical Approach series, first published in 1992. The book contains chapters by experienced enzymologists on many aspects of the kinetic assay of enzymes, and this edition contains revisions to two chapters, and new chapters on high-throughput assays, and determination of active site concentration.

The book begins with a discussion of the principles of enzyme assays, the different types of assay available, with illustrations, and a discussion of practical problems and issues. Chapter 2 deals with UV–visible enzyme assays, including fluorescence assays, with a detailed coverage of practical issues. Chapter 3 deals with radiochemical assays, including a new section on scintillation proximity assays, which are of importance in drug screening. Chapter 4 deals with HPLC assays, illustrating several examples in detail, with practical points discussed in depth. Chapters 5–7 cover specialised electrochemical assays: the oxygen electrode, the nitric oxide electrode, and the pH-stat. Chapter 10 is a new chapter on the determination of active site concentration, illustrated using α-chymotrypsin. Chapter 8 is a general chapter dealing with the preparation of extracts containing enzymes, and chapter 9 is a revised chapter dealing with the use of colourimetric assays for visualisation of enzyme types after gel electrophoresis, of particular relevance to proteomics applications. Chapter 11, written by Hayes and Mellor from GlaxoSmithKline, describes considerations and strategies for high-throughput screening in enzyme targets in drug discovery, with two illustrative examples, including the use of fluorescence resonance energy transfer. Finally Chapter 12 deals with the statistical analysis of enzyme kinetic data.

Overall, the book is written for biochemists who already have some experience of working with enzymes, but want to widen their expertise and repertoire of techniques, and/or eliminate practical errors in enzyme kinetic analysis. The book provides a very detailed and useful discussion of practical issues in kinetic analysis, illustrates with relevant examples, and provides primary references to the biochemical literature, which are up-to-date. As a whole it is fairly comprehensive for this subject area, although the discussion of fluorescence-based assays is a little limited. On balance the book is aimed more at the professional than the student, although it would be of interest to academic research groups studying enzymes. It is clearly written and illustrated, and will appeal to professional biochemists interested in enzymes.

T. D. H. Bugg
University of Warwick, UK

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