Determining rate constants for irreversible polymerization where the initial step and propagation steps have...

A new relationship is derived between the amount of monomer incorporated and the amount of initiated primer in an irreversible polymerization where the first step, initiation, has a rate constant differing from the elongation rate constants. It is valid for template directed and template independent polymerization. This relationship can be used in kinetic simulation. It suggests a simpler curve fitting technique to attain rate constants from a relatively small data set. Our analysis reveals some limitations of the model of irreversible polymerization; these limitations have not been obvious previously. For example, the initiation rate constant is not attainable from simple monomer incorporation data. Reliable rate constants can be obtained with minimal time course studies.