Which type of inhibition would not affect the slope of a Lineweaver-Burk plot?

The correct answer is that uncompetitive inhibition would not affect the slope of a Lineweaver-Burk plot.

In the context of enzyme kinetics, the Lineweaver-Burk plot is a double-reciprocal representation of the Michaelis-Menten equation, displaying (1/V) (the reciprocal of the reaction velocity) against (1/[S]) (the reciprocal of substrate concentration). The slope of this plot is determined by the values of (V_{max}) and (K_m) through the equation slope = (K_m/V_{max}).

Uncompetitive inhibition occurs when the inhibitor binds only to the enzyme-substrate complex, which prevents the complex from converting to product. Since this type of inhibition affects both (K_m) and (V_{max}) simultaneously, the ratio (K_m/V_{max}) remains constant, meaning that the slope of the Lineweaver-Burk plot does not change.

In contrast, competitive inhibition increases (K_m) (the Michaelis constant) without affecting (V_{max}), which would increase the slope of the plot. Non-competitive inhibition alters (V_{max}) but does not change (K_m), which can also lead