Gas Enzymology : Proceedings of a Symposium Held at Odense University, Denmark, 28–29 May 1984

Being small, shapeless and inert a gas molecule does not seem to be an enzyme's dream of a substrate. Nevertheless evolution has provided a host of enzymes which can interact specifically with gas molecules such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen etc. Many of these enzymes play dominant roles on the world scene in biogeochemical cycles. On the cellular level they tend to be closely connected to the energy conserving apparatus. We define Gas Enzymology as the study of these enzymes. Historically, Gas Enzymology is a subspecialty of bioenergetics. Its foundations, technical as well as conceptual were laid by Warburg in his studies of the cellular combustion of nutrients. The Warburg apparatus supported the first thirty years of research in the field. It was succeeded by the Clark electrode which had its heyday during the period when the modern concepts of bioenergetics took shape. The Clark electrode, itself approaching thirty years of age, is now being sup­ plemented and in some cases replaced by the vastly more powerful membrane inlet mass spectrometer which measures with equal ease all dis­ solved gases of interest in biochemistry. It is our belief that future development of Gas Enzymology will be linked to the widespread exploit­ ation of this technique. Front Matter....Pages i-x Quadrupole Mass Spectrometric Measurement of Dissolved and Free Gases....Pages 1-16 Direct Mass-Spectrometric Monitoring of the Metabolism and Isotope Exchange in Enzymic and Microbiological Investigations....Pages 17-35 Simultaneous Dissolved Oxygen and Redox Measurements: Use of Polarographic, Bioluminescence and Mass Spectrometric Monitoring Combined with Dual-Wavelength Spectrophotometry....Pages 37-53 Alcohol Oxidase in Candida Boidinii , Combined Spectrophotometry and Oxygen Measurements during Ethanol Inactivation....Pages 55-60 Mechanism of Activation and Reduction of Dioxygen by Rhus Laccase — A Blue Copper Oxidase....Pages 61-78 Dioxygen Reduction in Blue Oxidases: The Electron Transfer and Protonation Steps....Pages 79-89 Photosynthesis Studies Using Mass Spectrometric Techniques....Pages 91-104 Interactions of Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen on D-Ribulose 1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylation....Pages 105-120 The Catalytic Mechanism of Carbonic Anhydrase....Pages 121-133 The Catalytic Mechanism of Carbonic Anhydrase Studied by 18 O Exchange....Pages 135-145 Enzymes Oxidizing Carbon Monoxide....Pages 147-168 Mechanistic Studies on the Mode of Action of Methane Monooxygenase....Pages 169-186 The Reaction Mechanism of Methane Monooxygenase Studied by Membrane-Inlet Mass Spectrometry in Whole Cells of Methanotrophic Bacteria....Pages 187-200 Continuous Monitoring of Fermentation Gases in an Artificial Rumen System (Rusitec) Using A Membrane-Inlet Probe on A Portable Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer....Pages 201-206 Isotope Ratio Mass-Spectrometry Studies of HD Formation by Nitrogenase....Pages 207-227 Binding and Activation of Dinitrogen in Nitrogenase....Pages 229-246 Back Matter....Pages 247-250 Proceedings of a Symposium held at Odense University, Denmark, May 28-29, 1984