Enzyme Properties Under Altered Conditions

In this lab or experiment, the aim was to determine the following factors of enzymes: (1) the effects of enzymes concentration the catalytic rate or the rate of the reaction, (2) the effects of pH on a particular enzyme, an enzyme known and referred throughout this experiment as ALP (alkaline phosphate enzyme) and lastly (3) the effects of various temperatures on the reaction or catalytic rate. Throughout the experiment 8 separate cuvettes and tubes are mixed with various solutions (labeled as tables 1,3 & 4 in the apparatus/materials sections of the lab) and tested for the effects of the factors mentioned above (concentration, pH and temperature). The tubes labeled 1-4 are tested for pH with pH paper and by spectrophotometer, cuvettes 1a-4a was tested for concentration and cuvettes labeled 1b-4b was tested for temperature in four different atmospheric conditions (4ºC, 23ºC, 32ºC and 60ºC) to see how the enzyme solution was affected by the various conditions. After carrying out the procedures the results showed that the experiment followed the theory for the most part, which is that all the factors work best at its optimum level. So, the optimum pH that the enzymes reacted at was a pH of 7 (neutral), the optimum temperature that the reactions occurs with the enzymes is a temperature of 4ºC or

Enzyme catalysis is dependant upon factors such as concentration of enzyme and substrate, temperature and pH. These factors determine the rate of reaction, and an increase in temperature or pH above the optimum will

pH - Enzymes also have an optimum pH level. The pH of a solution affects the enzyme's secondary and tertiary structures. These bonds make the shape of an enzyme's active site. So, if these bonds are broken, the shape of the active site changes and is distorted. If there is no active site, there is no reaction resulting in no products. If the enzyme is put in a pH that is very different from the optimum pH, it can cause the enzyme to denature.

As the temperature increases, so will the rate of enzyme reaction. However, as the temperature exceeds the optimum the rate of reaction will decrease.

These results shown from this experiment led us to conclude that enzymes work best at certain pH rates. For this particular enzyme, pH 7 worked best. When compared to high levels of pH, the lower levels worked better. The wrong level of pH can denature enzymes; therefore finding the right level is essential. The independent variable was the amount of pH, and the dependent being the rate of oxygen. The results are reliable as they are reinforced by the fact that enzymes typically work best at neutral pH

Background and Introduction: Enzymes are proteins that process substrates, which is the chemical molecule that enzymes work on to make products. Enzyme purpose is to increase the rate of activity and speed up chemical reaction in a form of biological catalysts. The enzymes specialize in lowering the activation energy to start the process. Enzymes are very specific in their process, each substrate is designed to fit with a specific substrate and the enzyme and substrate link at the active site. The binding of a substrate to the active site of an enzyme is a very specific interaction. Active sites are clefts or grooves on the surface of an enzyme, usually composed of amino acids from different parts of the polypeptide chain that are brought together in the tertiary structure of the folded protein. Substrates initially bind to the active site by noncovalent interactions, including hydrogen bonds, ionic bonds, and hydrophobic interactions. Once a substrate is bound to the active site of an enzyme, multiple mechanisms can accelerate its conversion to the product of the reaction. But sometimes, these enzymes fail or succeed to increase the rate of action because of various factors that limit the action. These factors can be known as temperature, acidity levels (pH), enzyme and/or substrate concentration, etc. In this experiment, it will be tested how much of an effect

As stated in the introduction, three conditions that may affect enzyme activity are salinity, temperature, and pH. In experiment two, we explored how temperature can affect enzymatic activity. Since most enzymes function best at their optimum temperature or room temperature, it was expected that the best reaction is in this environment. The higher the temperature that faster the reaction unless the enzyme is denatured because it is too hot. Similarly, pH and salinity can affect enzyme activity.

In addition to an optimal temperature, every enzyme also has optimal PH values at which it is the most active. The optimal PH value for most enzymes fall in the range of PH 6-8 (close to neutral PH 7); however some digestive enzymes in the human stomach work best at very acidic PH of 2.

Enzymes are defined as catalysts that speed up chemical reactions but remain the same themselves. The shape of an enzyme enables it to receive one type of molecule and that specific molecule will fit into the enzyme’s shape. Where a substance fits into an enzyme is called the active site and the substance that fits into the active site is called a substrate. Several factors affect enzymes and the rate of their reactions. Temperature, pH, enzyme concentration, substrate concentration, and the presence of any inhibitors or activators can all affect enzymes. Temperature can affect enzymes because if the temperature gets too high, it can cause the enzyme to denature. pH can affect an enzyme by changing the shape of the enzyme or the charge properties of the substrate so that either the substrate cannot bind to the active site or it cannot undergo catalysis. Every enzyme has an ideal pH that it will strive in. Increasing substrate concentration increases the rate of reaction because more substrate molecules will be interacting and colliding with enzyme molecules, so more product will be formed. Inhibitors can affect enzymes and the rate of their reactions by either slowing down or stopping catalysis. The three types of inhibitors include competitive, non-competitive, and substrate inhibition.

Temperature affects the rate of which the enzyme reacts, enzymes react typically faster in hotter temperatures than colder. Ph levels that are extremely low or high can stop enzyme activity completely or slow them down.If there is more enzyme concentration the reaction is quicker because enzymes become constant. Also if substrate activity increases, so the reaction time speeds up until maximum is reached.

The motive of this lab is to attain a better understanding of enzyme activity by timing chemical reactions in certain temperatures and pH levels. Enzymes act as catalysts that help speed up reactions. Without these enzymes chemical reactions in metabolism would be backed up. There are two factors that affect an enzyme’s reaction rate: temperature and pH levels. In this label we will be testing different pH levels and temperatures to see which ones cause the most reactions.

Substrate concentration also affects the rate of reaction as the greater the substrate concentration the faster the rate of reaction and all the active sites are filled. At this point the rate of reaction can only be increased if you add more enzymes in to make more active sites available.

Introduction: Enzymes are protein catalysts facilitating the conversion of substrates into products (Alexander and Peters, 2011). They go through a whole chemical reaction which starts off with the substrate and then ends up with a product. The only way this reaction can be adjusted or not even work is if they end up going through some sort of affect which only temperature and pH levels can do determining the environment. When enzymes are in an environment that is too acidic or alkaline, their chemical properties, sizes and shapes can become altered (Magher, 2015) Chemical modification of proteins is widely used as a too; to maintain a native conformation, improving stability (Rodriguez-Cabrera, Regalado, and Garcia-Almendarez, 2011) In this experiment, four trials were conducted and recorded every 15 seconds for 5 minutes in order to calculate the optimum levels and IRV.

Almost all enzymes need specific conditions for them to function. The conditions include temperature, pH level, and concentration of salt. Enzymes have optimal conditions. If they are changed, the enzyme may denature and deactivate. If that happens, the enzyme would not be able to catalyze the reaction, and the reaction rate would decrease (Worthington 2010).

The hypothesis is as the substrate concentration has an increase so will the reaction of velocity if the amount of enzyme is kept constant.