Substate specificity of phosphatase

Abstract

The purpose of the research was to investigate the action of prostatic acid phosphatase on a spectrum of physiologically significant phosphate esters under varying environmental conditions. The effects of varying pH, substrate concentration, and enzyme concentration, the influence of inhibitors, and the influence of time on enzymatic hydrolysis were studied with each substrate. The enzymes extracted from both normal and cancerous prostatic tissue were used in an attempt to discover any differences existing between enzymes. A survey of the literature was made. A historical review of the history of acid phosphatase, its distribution in animal tissues and the influence of experimental conditions on enzyme activity is included in the body of the dissertation. Little work has been done to investigate the action of acid phosphatases on physiologically significant substrates, and the comparison of normal and cancerous enzyme preparations from human tissues has attracted the attention of only several investigators. [TRUNCATED]