interferENZY: enzymatic assay validation and standardized kinetic analysis (v1.0)
Authors/Creators
- 1. i3S – Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto
- 2. Department of Biochemistry, University of Zürich
- 3. Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King's College London
- 4. LEPABE – Laboratório de Engenharia de Processos, Ambiente, Biotecnologia e Energia, Departamento de Engenharia Química, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto
Description
Main description
This software entry provides the GNU Octave code that accompanies the work entitled: interferENZY: a web-based tool for enzymatic assay validation and standardized kinetic analysis, authored by Maria Filipa Pinto, Antonio Baici, Pedro José Barbosa Pereira, Sandra Macedo-Ribeiro, Annalisa Pastore, Fernando Rocha, and Pedro M. Martins. It has been implemented in the form of a publicly-accessible webserver at https://interferenzy.i3s.up.pt.
Abstract
Enzymatic assays are widely employed to characterize important allosteric and enzyme modulation effects. The high sensitivity of these assays can represent a serious problem if the occurrence of experimental errors surreptitiously affects the reliability of enzyme kinetics results.
We have addressed this problem and found that hidden assay interferences can be unveiled by the graphical representation of progress curves in modified reaction coordinates. To render this analysis accessible to users across all levels of expertise, we have developed a webserver, interferENZY, that allows (i) an unprecedented tight quality-control of experimental data, (ii) the automated identification of small and major assay interferences, and (iii) the estimation of bias-free kinetic parameters. By eliminating the subjectivity factor in kinetic data reporting, interferENZY will contribute to solving the «reproducibility crisis» that currently challenges experimental molecular biology. The interferENZY webserver is freely available (no login required) at https://interferenzy.i3s.up.pt.
Contact information:
Maria Filipa Pinto (mfpinto@i3s.up.pt)
Pedro M. Martins (pmartins@ibmc.up.pt)
i3S – Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, 208, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal. Telephone number: +351 226 074 900