What are the advantages of kinase activity assays?

Kinases assays provide several advantages in their use in biology. The main advantage of these assays is that they allow for a direct measurement of enzymatic activity of kinases. This is done by monitoring the transfer of phosphate groups from ATP to substrates. Another advantage is that they assist in drug discovery because they can be utilized to monitor the activity of a specific target kinase in the presence of test compounds. By testing the effect of these potential therapeutic agents on kinase activity, scientists can determine the inhibitory potency and specificity on these compounds. Kinase assays are also utilized in high-throughput screening experiments to identify small molecule inhibitors that target specific kinases. Another advantage is that kinase assays facilitate kinetic analysis. This provides information about the rate of substrate phosphorylation and catalytic efficiency of kinases. Kinases assays also can be used to determine the effect of phosphorylation on kinase activity. This is done by comparing the activity of modified and unmodified kinases to assess their outcomes on these modifications and their role in kinase regulation.