Macromolecules, Enzymes And Cellular Structures

Enzymes are known as protein catalysts. The name protein catalyst suggests that most enzymes are made of proteins. A catalyst is a substance that speeds up chemical reactions without being consumed in the process. (Giuseppe, M 2002, p.69). After a reaction has been catalyzed, the catalyst can be used again to catalyze the same reaction. Enzymes reduce the activation energy (minimal energy) it takes for a reaction to take place. Enzymes can either catabolize (destroy), or anabolize (build up) a chemical system.

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.

The most common macromolecules found in living organisms are lipids, carbohydrates, proteins and nucleic acids. Briefly, the meaning of macromolecules is that they normally contain two or more molecules in them and their main functions are to store energy, information and much more. Most foods are known to be combinations of macromolecules. While some of these compounds can be detected by taste tests, many cannot. Scientists then use certain tests to determine the presence of macromolecules.

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

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

Enzymes are biological catalysts that facilitate specific chemical reactions (Raven, et al., 2014). Enzymes do their job by

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.

A macromolecule is a large molecule composed of small molecular units called monomers that are linked to together in long chains called polymers. Lipids are hydrophobic, non polar macromolecules that insulate organs, store energy, and make up cell membranes. Their monomers are called triglycerides. Proteins are another example of macromolecules. Made up of monomers called amino acids held together by peptide bonds, proteins provide structural support, defense, and cell regulation. The third macromolecule that is going to be tested for are carbohydrates. Carbohydrates, such as sugars and starches, are needed for energy storage and are made up of monomers called monosaccharides.

In this study, the effects of temperature and pH were measured on the catalytic ability of the enzyme catechol oxidase (also known as tyrosinase, diphenol oxidase, or polyphenal oxidase). Enzymes are defined as catalysts in biological systems that lower that energy of activation or Ea of a reaction. When a substrate bonds to a the active site of an enzyme, this forms an enzyme-substrate complex. An enzyme substrate complex consists of one or more substrates bonded to the enzymes active site, which changes shape slightly when bonded to, so as to appropriately fit the substrate(s). This slight change in enzyme shape is called induced fit.

Introduction: In this lab, we studied biomolecules. Biomolecules are molecules that are existent in all living organisms. The four biomolecules, we are learning in class are proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acid. The three biomolecules being addressed in the lab are proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids.

The macromolecule protein is made up of monomers called amino acids which are nitrogen-containing molecules (Hoffman and Falvo, 2004). These amino acids are joined together by peptide bonds. Amino acids can be categorized into three types called essential amino acids, semi-essential amino acids and non-essential amino acids. Essential amino acids (e.g.: valine and phenylalanine) refer to amino acids that are not synthesized in the human body; hence it has to be provided in the diet. Semi- essential amino acids represent amino acids that are synthesized in the body but not in adequate amounts; therefore it has to be supplied by the diet in small amounts. Non- essential amino acids (e.g.: alanine and glycine) are synthesized by the body and

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 essential proteins that lower the activation energy and provide standard living needs. They regulate pigments, breakdown starches and proteins, act as treatments for heart attacks, cancer and replace old tissues (Alberte et al., 2012). Enzymes act as catalysts which regulate how metabolic processes work. Enzymes are three-dimensional shapes that fit into a reactant molecule known as a substrate. This substrate binds to its specific home known as an active site. When a substrate binds to the active site it creates a process known as the enzyme-substrate complex which creates a final product. The purpose of an active site is to determine the specific characteristics of each enzyme for example the charge, shape and hydrophobic/hydrophilic (Alberte et al., 2012). During this process, the substrate’s chemical bonds are being modified but the enzyme itself is not changed or

Macromolecule is the study of many types of chemicals structure that can assemble many atoms that have different valence. The macromolecules can be divided into 3 parts. The smallest molecules are called ‘monomers’. The second smallest molecules are called ‘oligomers’. The largest molecules are called ‘polymers. Usually macromolecules are made up of large molecules and large atoms. This is the main reason these molecules have higher molecular weight. Some macromolecules can be said to be original macromolecules that occur naturally such as cellulose, protein and etc. The others are called synthesized macromolecules like silicon, nylon etc. In the biochemistry there are 3 conventional biopolymer called (nucleic acid, protein and carbohydrates)

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.