THE EFFECT OF THE HYDROGEN ION CONCENTRATION ON THE RATE OF HYDROLYSIS OF GLYCYL GLYCINE, GLYCYL LEUCINE, GLYCYL ALANINE, GLYCYL ASPARAGINE, GLYCYL ASPARTIC ACID, AND BIURET BASE BY EREPSIN.

1. The rate of hydrolysis at different pH values of glycyl glycine, glycyl leucine, glycyl alanine, glycyl asparagine, glycyl aspartic acid and biuret base has been determined. 2. The pH-activity curves obtained in this way differ for the different substrates. 3. The curves can be satisfactorily predicted by the assumption that erepsin is a weak acid or base with a dissociation constant of 10(-7.6) and that the reaction takes place between a particular ionic species of the enzyme and of the substrate. There are several possible arrangements which will predict the experimental results. 4. The rate of inactivation of erepsin at various pH values has been determined and found to agree with the assumption used above, that the enzyme is a weak acid or base with a dissociation constant of about 10(-7.6). 5. It is pointed out that if the mechanism assumed is correct, the determination of a significant value for the relative rate of hydrolysis of various peptides is a very uncertain procedure.