DYNAMICS OF THE IRREVERSIBLE MICHAELIS-MENTEN KINETIC MECHANISM

Solutions using Abel's method are developed for the irreversible Micha elis-Menten mechanism that governs enzyme action. From these phase pla ne solutions, an approximate solution is derived that permits a study of the time course of substrate and complex. Performance of the soluti ons in the phase plane and in temporal evolution is assessed in compar ison to numerical solutions, the quasi-equilibrium and pseudo-steady-s tate approximations, and the iterative solution obtained by Fraser and co-workers. Both the complete and approximate solutions perform well, especially in parameter regions of most practical interest.