This project studies the kinetics or patterns in reaction rates in the oxidation of catechol (a phenol derivative) into o-benzoquinone via an enzyme called mushroom tyrosinase-PPO3 (MT-PPO3) extracted from a commercial mushroom sample (Agaricus bisporus).
More specifically, the maximum reaction rate (v_max), Michaelis constant (K_M), fit to the Michaelis-Menten model for enzyme catalysis, and the effect of the addition of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (p-HBA) and commercial vinegar samples on kinetic parameters were determined by performing UV-Vis spectrophotometry during the reaction.
Data on the absorbances of the reaction mixtures under different catechol, p-HBA, and vinegar concentrations were collected for seven minutes and summarized as a .CSV file.
A Python program using Pandas, NumPy, SciPy, and MatPlotLib packages was developed to determine catechol concentrations and initial reaction rates from absorbance data, to fit absorbance, concentration, and reaction rate data using exponential approach and Michaelis-Menten models, to calculate vmax and KM under different conditions, and to create visualizations accompanying the aforementioned mathematical models.
This program supports the utilization of UV-Vis spectrophotometry and modelling algorithms in studying the behavior of enzymes such as MT-PPO3 and small organic compounds in speeding up biochemically-significant reactions.