Abstract
Chemical relaxation methods and a dilution technique were applied to the study of the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl phosphate by human prostatic acid phosphatase. Although the reaction mechanism was not elucidated, rate constants and equilibrium constants were obtained for the reaction of enzyme and
p-nitrophenol to form a complex. A slow, 2-sec relaxation effect which showed no concentration dependence was observed in various reaction mixtures, including some lacking the substrate and products of the hydrolytic reaction. The conclusion drawn is that there are two forms of the prostatic enzyme, which are normally in equilibrium with each other, but which undergo a relatively slow interconversion when this equilibrium is perturbed. A preliminary calculation indicates that these forms are present in the equilibrium ratio of 2:1.