Native human and rabbit gastric lipases (HGL and RGL, respectively) were inactivated after modification of one sulfhydryl group/enzyme molecule. HGL and RGL were covalently labeled using 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitro-['4C]benzoic acid) and the interaction of 2-nitro-5-thio-[ ''C]benzoic-acid-labeled lipases ([14C]Nbs-lipases) with monomolecular lipid films was investigated. Our results show that [14C]Nbs-lipases bind to lipid films as efficiently as native HGL or RGL. The critical surface pressure z, and the maximal surface pressure (Azmax) of [I4C]Nbslipases were enhanced in comparison with those of native RGL and HGL. These changes in behavior were probably due to an increase in hydrophobicity brought about, directly or indirectly, by the binding of the Nbs radical. This chemical modification thus blocks the hydrolysis site and reinforces the hydrophobic character of the gastric lipases.In order to describe the kinetics of a lipolytic enzyme acting at an interface, a simple model has been proposed by Verger et al. [l]. This model consists basically of two successive equilibria. The first describes the reversible penetration of a water-soluble enzyme into an interface (E =$ E*). This is followed by a second equilibrium in which one molecule of penetrated enzyme binds a single substrate molecule, forming the enzyme-substrate complex (E*S). This is the twodimensional equivalent of the classical Michaelis-Menten equilibrium. Once the complex E*S has been formed, the catalytic steps take place, regenerating the enzyme in the form E* and liberating the lipolysis products.The interfacial binding of lipolytic enzymes is a critical step in the overall catalytic process, i. e. without interfacial adsorption no lipolysis could occur. Several examples have been reported in the literature where a lack of enzyme activity was specifically attributable to a lack of adsorption and not to any modification of the catalytic site sensu stricto. For instance, pancreatic lipase inactivation by diethyl-pnitrophenyl phosphate prevents the enzyme adsorption onto silicon-coated glass beads without affecting its ability to hydrolyze soluble esters such as p-nitrophenyl acetate [23. Chemical modification of the N-terminal alanine residue of the pancreatic phospholipase A2 does not affect the hydrolysis of monomeric synthetic short-chain phospholipids, whereas the modified enzyme becomes unable to bind and to act upon organized phospholipid micellar substrates [3]. Clostridium perfringens phospholipase C specifically requires Ca2 + for interfacial binding to occur, whereas the catalytic site is fully effective only in the presence of Zn2+ and Ca2+ ions [4]. These examples illustrate the functional differences existing between a lipid-binding site and a catalytic site in several lipolytic enzymes.In recent studies on pure HGL and RGL, we reported that the catalytic and structural characteristics of these two enzymes are very similar [5, 61. We have further shown that one sulfhydryl group was modified/molecule native HGL or RGL after incubation wit...