Enzymes: Catalysis, Kinetics and Mechanisms

This enzymology textbook for graduate and advanced undergraduate students covers the syllabi of most universities where this subject is regularly taught. It focuses on the synchrony between the two broad mechanistic facets of enzymology: the chemical and the kinetic, and also highlights the synergy between enzyme structure and mechanism. Designed for self-study, it explains how to plan enzyme experiments and subsequently analyze the data collected. The book is divided into five major sections: 1] Introduction to enzymes, 2] Practical aspects, 3] Kinetic Mechanisms, 4] Chemical Mechanisms, and 5] Enzymology Frontiers. Individual concepts are treated as stand-alone chapters; readers can explore any single concept with minimal cross-referencing to the rest of the book. Further, complex approaches requiring specialized techniques and involved experimentation (beyond the reach of an average laboratory) are covered in theory with suitable references to guide readers.

The book provides students, researchers and academics in the broad area of biology with a sound theoretical and practical knowledge of enzymes. It also caters to those who do not have a practicing enzymologist to teach them the subject.

Dr. N. S. Punekar is currently working as a Professor at prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Mumbai, India. He obtained his PhD from the coveted Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore, India in the year 1984 and subsequently worked as Post-doctoral fellow at University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA till 1988. He joined IIT Bombay as Assistant Professor in 1988 and subsequently got elevated to the rank of Professor in 2001.

Dr. Punekar's major research interest lies in Microbial Biochemistry and Molecular Enzymology; Microbial Metabolic Regulation, Understanding Metabolism through biochemical and recombinant DNA techniques, Fungal Molecular Genetics and its Applications to Metabolic Engineering. Dr. Punekar has published around 50 papers in peer reviewed reputed journals and more importantly has 4 patents to his credit. He has been an excellent teacher of Enzymology and Industrial Microbiology which is evident by the fact that he has received the "Excellence in Teaching Award" at IIT Bombay in the years 2000 and 2012. He possesses more than two decades of experience of teaching Enzymology at IIT Bombay.

He is associated with various societies and committees of Government of India as an expert member. He is also in editorial board of journals like Indian Journal of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Indian Journal of Biotechnology since and Indian Journal of Experimental Biology, etc.