The decomposition of sodium formate by bacterium coli in the presence of heavy water

Abstract

Since the discovery of the heavy hydrogen isotope, it was realized that this might prove very useful for the investigation of the mechanism of chemical and biological reactions. As a simple reaction of a biological nature, we have chosen the decomposition of sodium formate by the enzyme hydrogenlyase of Bacterium coli (see Stephenson and Stickland, 1932).