In this work, the inactivation at pH 7.0 of liver alcohol dehydrogenase by iodoacetamide and a series of six haloacids has been studied, and the kinetic constants determined. Enzyme inactivation was compared with the model alkylation of a metal-thiol and a thiolate anion free in solution. The following conclusions resulted.1. Inactivation of liver alcohol dehydrogenase by iodoacetamide is a direct thiol alkylation, while inactivation by selective alkylation of Cys-46 by the haloacids is facilitated by reversible complex formation.2. Inactivation half-time for the haloacids ranged over 4-190 min, a difference mainly caused by dissimilar chemical reactivities rather than diverse fitting in the active site.3. The thiol of Cys-46 is alkylated as a zinc-thiol complex. It is, as such, not especially reactive; indeed it has a nucleophilic reactivity similar to that observed with the model compound free in solution.4. Affinity labelling of liver alcohol dehydrogenase by haloacids compared with alkylation of the similar group free in solution illustrates enzymatic catalysis by reversible complex formation. With the present series of 'substrates' a rate enhancement of up to 58000 is seen.The a-haloacids iodoacetate, bromoacetate, bromoimidazolyl propionate and chloro-imidazolyl propionate are known to alkylate cysteine-46 selectively in liver alcohol dehydrogenase [I -41. X-ray analysis has shown that Cys-46 is one of the three protein ligands to the active-site zinc ,atom [5]. Kinetic investigations have shown that the alkylalion of this residue results from the formation of a reversible complex prior to irreversible alkylation [I]. The reversible complex is formed by carboxylate binding to the general anion-binding site, identified as arginine-47 [5]. This site is part of the coenzyme-binding site, and is where the pyrophosphate group of the coenzyme binds. Several anions thus bind in competition with both coenzyme and a-haloacid, and recently it was shown that even phosphate anions bind to this site [6]. Selective alkylation of Cys-46 with iodoacetate has been taken as a typical example of affinity labelling or active-site-directed 'irreversible inhibition [7].So far, attempts to affinity label liver alcohol dehydrogenase with other haloacids have been unsuccessful, even though slow inactivation has been reported with 2-iodopropionate, 3-bromopropionate, 3-iodopropionate and also with the 4, 5 and 6 carbon bromoacids [8,9]. Interpretation of these inactivation results has suffered from a lack of knowledge of the chemical reactivity of the different haloacids. In a recent study, the alkylating reactivity of a series of alkyl halides was measured by reaction with the free thiolate anion ofcysteine [lo]. The chemical reactivity of the haloacids varied greatly. To understand affinity labelling of liver alcohol clehydrogenase with haloacids, it is therefore of vital importance to compare the enzyme reaction with a model reaction involving the corresponding group free in solution.In this work, iodoacetamide and a series of h...