Unveiling the Astonishing Impact of the Isotope Effect
New research from the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics at Karolinska Institutet challenges the traditional understanding of isotopic effects in biochemical reactions, revealing that the effects can be 250-300% larger than previously believed, depending on temperature. This discovery necessitates a recalibration of molecular dynamics simulations to account for the significant influence of isotopes, which has been consistently overlooked. The study suggests that isotopically pure compounds, such as enzymes, have superior properties and could impact fields ranging from chemistry and biochemistry to biology and medicine.