Intermolecular ligand substitution reactions

Many practical advantages result if one considers the formation of enzyme ligand complexes to be intermolecular ion exchange or ligand substitution reactions. Surrogate ligands such as buffer ions and other competitive inhibitors can be used to probe the detailed mechanisms of the reaction, especially the chemistry of complex formation and dissociation. By maintaining the substrate/cosubstrate or substrate/modifier ratios constant one can obtain linear kinetic plots that are more easily and rigorously evaluated than non-linear plots or plots based on data from only a limited range of substrate concentrations.