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α-(p-Nitrophenyl)Maltoside as a Substrate for the Assay of Amylase

Nature volume 182, pages 525–526 (1958)Cite this article

Abstract

RECENT methods for the assay of amylase use polysaccharides, mostly starch solutions, as a substrate. The wide range of the results can be ascribed in part to the properties of polysaccharides in solution. In starches the ratio of amylose to amylopectin is variable and, according to Meyer, long-chain polysaccharides in solution tend to form particles resistant to enzyme. The affinity of amylase for the substrate diminishes with decreasing chain-length. The maltose set free acts as an inhibitor of amylase (cf. Meyer et al.). Moreover, the moderate accuracy of the usual (iodometric and reducto-metric) methods of measuring chain-length may affect the results unfavourably.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. St. Radboud Hospital, Department of Medicine, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    A. P. JANSEN & P. G. A. B. WYDEVELD

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  1. A. P. JANSEN
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  2. P. G. A. B. WYDEVELD
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JANSEN, A., WYDEVELD, P. α-(p-Nitrophenyl)Maltoside as a Substrate for the Assay of Amylase. Nature 182, 525–526 (1958). https://doi.org/10.1038/182525b0

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