Procedures and a computer program for the determination of fractional protein synthetic rates by numerical solution of an implicit equation.

Fractional protein synthetic rates may be determined in vivo by infusion with a labelled amino acid and measurements of the specific radioactivities of the free and protein-bound amino acid. The calculation requires the solution of an implicit equation which is usually done by the laborious and inaccurate method of interpolation from a series of standard curves. In this report a BASIC computer program (PROSYN) is given which enables a quick and accurate solution by a numerical method. The basis of several solution methods is described; the PROSYN program is capable of using either of two (bracketting and the secant method) of these procedures.