1. The free energy, enthalpy, and entropy of activation of the enzymatically catalyzed mutarotation of glucose have been determined: AG* 11.9 kcal/mol, AH* 12.8 kcal/mol, AS* 3.1 cal x mol-l x K-l.
2.The pH-dependence of the enzymatic activity has been investigated. The active center of the mutarotase from Escherichiu coli contains one functional group (pK 5.5) which in the dissociated form has only a catalytic function, and a second one (pK 7.6) which is responsible for the binding of the substrate.3. The binding group of the substrate has been determined. By comparing the IMichaelis and inhibitor constants of a variety of substrates and inhibitors it is concluded that the substrate is bound to the enzyme over an equatorial hydroxyl group a t C-2 of the carbohydrate ring.4. The products of the enzymatically catalyzed mutarotation have been analyzed by gas chromatography. These experiments show that the mutarotase catalyzes not only the anomerisation but also the ring isomerisation. The result is interpreted as evidence of an acyclic intermediate of the mutarotation of the aldoses.5 . The results are summarized in a reaction mechanism of the enzymatically catalyzed mutarotation. Its characteristic feature is that it describes the action of the mutarotase from E. coli as a base catalysis.The interpretation of the enzymatic action as a bifunctional catalysis, i.e. a simultaneous attack of an electrophilic and a nucleophilic group of the enzyme on the substrate, represents a preferred concept in today's enzymology. It is based in part on experiments dealing with the (nonenzymatic) catalysis of the mutarotation of glucose [1,2]. Therefore, in the enzymological literature mutarotation is considered to be a model reaction (for example [3,4]
&-D-glucose r=---==\ /?-D-glucose(1) appears to follow a bifunctional mechanism as well [5]. I n this paper we are now presenting a detailed investigation of the mechanism of action of the functional groups of this enzyme. We provide an answer to the question in which way they are involved in the catalysis: by binding the substrate or by directly participating in one or more of the catalytic steps. It was of special interest to investigate the relationship of the mutarotase to the other (nonenzymatic) catalysts of the mutarotation. Even before the concept of bifunctional catalysis the related concept of acid-base catalysis has been developed [6], again partly based on investigations of the mutarotation. By analyzing the pH and temperature dependence of the kinetic parameters we investigated the applicability of the two concepts for the enzymatically catalyzed mutarotation and its relationship to the nonenzymatic catalysis of mutarotation.An unsettled problem of mutarotation is the hypothesis of an acyclic aldehyde intermediate [7 -91. By chromatographic analysis of the reaction products during mutarotation we present evidence that the enzymatically catalyzed mutarotation proceeds via the open chain form of the aldoses.