The use of the direct linear plot for determining initial velocities.

A new method is described for estimating initial velocities of enzyme-catalysed reactions. It is simple to apply either graphically or numerically, and is particularly appropriate for experiments in which the initial straight part of the progress curve is very short or non-existent. It requires no more knowledge than is readily available about the details of the system, such as the extent of reaction at equilibrium, the rate of enzyme inactivation, the nature of product inhibition etc., unlike some other methods of analysing progress curves, which are often invalidated by small errors in the defining assumptions.