Essay On Substrate Specificity Of Enzymes

For enzymes to be useful in a reaction, the substrate needs to bind with the enzymes active site. The active site is specific for a

Enzymes are biological catalysts that speed up chemical reactions, without being used up or changed. Catalase is a globular protein molecule that is found in all living cells. A globular protein is a protein with its molecules curled up into a 'ball' shape. All enzymes have an active site. This is where another molecule(s) can bind with the enzyme. This molecule is known as the substrate. When the substrate binds with the enzyme, a product is produced. Enzymes are specific to their substrate, because the shape of their active site will only fit the shape of their substrate. It is said that the substrate is complimentary to their substrate.

Enzymes are types of proteins that work as a substance to help speed up a chemical reaction (Madar & Windelspecht, 104). There are three factors that help enzyme activity increase in speed. The three factors that speed up the activity of enzymes are concentration, an increase in temperature, and a preferred pH environment. Whether or not the reaction continues to move forward is not up to the enzyme, instead the reaction is dependent on a reaction’s free energy. These enzymatic reactions have reactants referred to as substrates. Enzymes do much more than create substrates; enzymes actually work with the substrate in a reaction (Madar &Windelspecht, 106). For reactions in a cell it is

[An active site can be altered by a non-competitive enzyme which encircles the enzyme and alters the shape of the active site which could be very dangerous.]

The independent variable in this investigation is pH. Each individual enzyme has it’s own pH characteristic. This is because the hydrogen and ionic bonds between –NH2 and –COOH groups of the polypeptides that make up the enzyme, fix the exact arrangement of the active site of an enzyme. It is crucial to be aware of how even small changes in the

Organisms cannot rely entirely on spontaneous reactions to produce all the materials necessary for life. These reactions occur much too slowly. To produce these materials quicker, cells rely on enzymes, biological catalysts, to speed up these reactions without being consumed. (General Biology I, Martineau, Dean, Gilliland, & Soderstrom, Lab Manual, 2017, 43). To produce these materials quicker, the activation reaction much be lowered, a very important part of this lab. Each enzyme acts on a specific molecule, or set of molecules, called a substrate (43). The enzyme binds to this substrate, forming an enzyme-substrate complex. An enzyme is a protein whose structure is determined by the sequence of amino acids groups that

Enzymes have an active site which has a complimentary base to a specific substrate, when these bind an enzyme-substrate complex is

enable the substrate to bind to the enzyme and form the enzyme substrate complex and

“Enzymes are proteins that have catalytic functions” [1], “that speed up or slow down reactions”[2], “indispensable to maintenance and activity of life”[1]. They are each very specific, and will only work when a particular substrate fits in their active site. An active site is “a region on the surface of an enzyme where the substrate binds, and where the reaction occurs”[2].

Organisms cannot depend solely on spontaneous reactions for the production of materials because they occur slowly and are not responsive to the organism's needs (Martineau, Dean, et al, Laboratory Manual, 43). In order to speed up the reaction process, cells use enzymes as biological catalysts. Enzymes are able to speed up the reaction through lowering activation energy. Additionally, enzymes facilitate reactions without being consumed (manual,43). Each enzyme acts on a specific molecule or set of molecules referred to as the enzyme's substrate and the results of this reaction are called products (manual 43). As a result, enzymes promote a reaction so that substrates are converted into products on a faster pace (manual 43). Most enzymes are proteins whose structure is determined by its sequence of its amino acids. Enzymes are designed to function the best under physiological conditions of PH and temperature. Any change of these variables that change the conformation of the enzyme will destroy or enhance enzyme activity(manual, 43).

Enzymes are central to every biochemical process. Due to their high specificity they are capable of catalyzing hundreds of reactions that signifies their vast practical importance.

Each enzyme is very specific and can only catalyze a certain reaction. The specific reaction catalyzed by an enzyme depends on the molecular structure and shape of a small area of the enzyme’s surface called the active site. The active site an attract and hold only its specific molecules. The target molecule that the enzyme attracts and acts upon is called the substrate. The substrate and the active site of the molecule must fit together very closely. Sometimes the enzyme changes its shape slightly to bring about the necessary fit.

Enzymes are very specific in nature, which helps them in reactions. When an enzyme recognizes its specific substrate, the

Enzymes are natural catalysts that work from the ability to increase the rate of reaction by decreasing the activation energy of a reaction. (Blanco, Blanco 2017) An enzyme can do this 10^8- to 10^10 fold, sometimes even 10^15 fold. (Malacinsk, Freifelder 1998) The substrate will momentarily bind with the enzyme making the enzyme-substrate complex, of which the shape of the substrate is complimentary to the shape of the active site on the enzyme it is binding with. There are two main theories as to how an enzymes and substrates interact, the lock-and-key model and induced fit theory. The lock-and-key model suggests that the enzyme has a specific shape that fits the substrate and only that substrate. The induced fit theory says the active site and substrate are able to change shape or distort for the reaction to take place with (Cooper,

Enzymes are proteins that act as catalysts and help reactions take place. In short, enzymes reduce the energy needed for a reaction to take place, permitting a reaction to take place more easily. Some enzymes are shape specific and reduce the energy for certain reactions. Enzymes have unique folds of the amino acid chain which result in specifically shaped active sites (Frankova Fry 2013). When substrates fit in the active site of an enzyme, then it is able to catalyze the reaction. Enzyme activity is affected by the concentrations of the enzymes and substrate present (Worthington 2010). As the incidence of enzyme increases, the rate of reaction increases. Additionally, as the incidence of substrate increases so does the rate of reaction.