Their optimum pH's are 5.5, 4.5, and 4.0 respectively. Acid phosphatase activity was observed by Teller in 1954 in preparations of a wheat germ lipase described by Singer in 1948. Equivalent commercial preparations have been distributed labeled as lipase and acid phosphatase thus generating some confusion. The initial rate of hydrolysis of o-carboxyphenyl phosphate is determined by following the increase in absorbance at 300 nm resulting from the release of salicyclic acid.
Clinical chemists measure the serum enzyme level as an index of prostatic cancer.
Acid phosphatase has been associated with Gaucher's disease. Acid phosphatase is used in research requiring phosphate group transfers. Purification and Properties of a Non-Specific Acid Phosphatase from Wheat Germ. On the Mechanism of Enzyme Inhibition by Sulfhydryl Reagents. Also active as a lipase.