Enzyme reactions

Abstract This chapter introduces some of the uses for microcomputers in studies of enzyme reactions. In many ways, it follows on from an earlier chapter on the applications of microcomputers in the analysis of enzyme reactions, published in this series in 1984 (1). The intervening years have seen great advances in the facilities offered by microcomputers. Machines with 20 MHz 32-bit CPUs and 4 Mbyte RAM are now commonplace, while in 1984 laboratories were more likely to be using micros with 4 MHz 8-bit CPUs and 32 kbyte of RAM. This increase in speed and storage facilities, not to mention improvements in screen resolution and colour display, have made microcomputers an invaluable tool in any laboratory. Similar advances in networking, laser printing, and X-Y plotting now enable raw data to be manipulated directly into publishable hard copy.