. Can. J. Chem. 53,283 (1975). The dependence of initial velocity upon substrate concentration has been examined in the carboxypeptidase A catalyzed hydrolysis of the following hippuric acid esters (at pH 7.5, 25", ionic strength0.5): C6H5CONHCH,C0,CHRC0,H: R = CH,; CH,CH,;(CH,~CH,; (CH,),CH,; (CH,),CH,; CH(CH,),; CH,CH(CH,),; C6H,; CH,C6H5. All of these esters d~splay marked substrate inhibition of their enzymic hydrolyses. With the exception of R = CH,, the velocitysubstrate concentration profiles for each of these esters can be rationalized by the formationof an E.S, complex which, independent of the alcohol moiety of the ester, reacts approximately 25 times more slowly than the E.S complex. For most of these esters, the formation of E.S, approximates ordered binding of the substrate molecules at the catalytic and inhibitory sites. While binding at the catalytic site is markedly dependent on the nature of the R group, binding of a second substrate molecule to E.S is not significantly affected by the nature of the R side chain. For R = C6H5, the D ester is neither a substrate nor a competitive inhibitor of the hydrolysisofthe L-ester but can replace the L-esterat the binding site which is responsible for substrate inhibition. The kinetic analysis suggests that this behavior of D-and L-enantiomers is also typical of theother esters examined (except possibly R = CH,). For R = CH, only, substrate activation also seems to occur prior to the onset of substrate inhibition at higher substrate concentrations. En faisant exception du cas oh R = CH,, tous les profils de la vitesse par rapport a la concentration de substrat, pour chacun de ces esters, peuvent &tre rationalises par la formation I I d'un complexe E.S2 qui, indipendant de la portion alcoolique de l'ester, reagit environ 25 fois moins rapidement que le complexe E.S. Pour la plupart de ces esters, la formation des 1 complexes E.S2 est approximativement parallele avec la liaison ordonnee des moltcules de substrat aux sites catalytique et inhibiteur. Alors que la liaison a u site catalytique depend d'une facon importante sur la nature du groupe R, la liaison d'une deuxierne moltcule de substrat au complexe E.S n'est pas effectee d'une rnaniere importante par la nature de la chaine laterale R. Pour R = C6Hs, I'ester D n'est ni un substrat ni un inhibiteur competitif de l'hydrolyse de I'ester L mais peut rernplacer I'ester L au site de liaison qui est responsable pour l'inhibition du substrat. L'analyse de la cinktique suggere que la facon de rkagir des enantiomeres D et L est aussi typique des autres esters examines (a I'exception possiblement de R = CH3). Dans le cas particulier oh R = CH,, l'activation du substrat semble aussi se produire avant l'apparition de I'inhibition du substrat i des concentrations de substrat plus tlevees.[Traduit par le journal]The hydrolysis of many ester and peptide sub- For personal use only.