kat
Units & Measurements abbreviation · Metric and SI Unit
| Stands for | Katal |
|---|---|
| Categories | Units & Measurements |
kat stands for Katal, a metric and SI unit abbreviation.
Catalytic activity of an enzyme or catalyst that converts one mole of substrate per second. Adopted in 1999, it is the SI option for reporting enzyme activity in clinical chemistry, though most labs still use international units.
Example: Enzyme activity was reported as 2.5 ukat/L in the serum sample.
Usage notes
The katal became the 22nd named SI derived unit at the 21st CGPM in 1999. One enzyme unit (U), defined as one micromole per minute, equals about 16.67 nanokatal. Because the katal is so large, practical values use microkatal or nanokatal.