Question

__________ is the average ratio of path length between any points within the particle to their absolute distance apart.

(a) Porosity

(b) Kcat

(c) Tortuosity

(d) Catalytic efficiency

This question was posed to me in an internship interview.

The question is from Kinetics of Immobilized Enzymes in chapter Immobilized Enzymes Preparation and Kinetics of Enzyme Technology

Answer 1

Right answer is (c) Tortuosity

Best explanation: Tortuosity is the average ratio of path length between any points within the particle to their absolute distance apart. The tortuosity is always greater than or equal to unity which is clearly shows that it depends on pore geometry.  Porosity is the ratio of volume of solution contained within the particle to the total volume of the particle. Kcat is referred to as turn over number that denotes the number of catalytic turn over events that happens per unit time. Kcat/Km is termed as catalytic efficiency.