Peroxidase Enzyme Lab Report

In this experiment, the naturally occurring peroxidase is extracted from homogenized turnip (Brassica rapa) pulp (Coleman 2016). Its role in the environment is to remove toxic hydrogen peroxide during metabolic processes where oxygen is used (Coleman 2016). The goal of this experiment is to evaluate the change of absorbency of turnip peroxidase within a metabolic reaction utilizing oxygen. Any change noted is indicative of the peroxidase removing hydrogen peroxide. Within this experiment, the extract will be prepared, the amount of enzyme will be standardized, and the effect of changing the optimal conditions will be observed. If the enzyme concentration is increased then the rate of the reaction decrease. If the pH of solutions used is increased

The preparation for the experiment started by gathering the solutions of enzyme Peroxidase, substrate hydrogen peroxide, the indicator guaiacol and distilled water. Two small spectrometer tubes and three large test tubes with numbered labels. In addition, one test tube rack, one pipet pump and a box of kimwipes were also gathered. Before the experiment, the spectrometer must be set up to use by flipping the power switch to on. Following, the machine was warmed up for 10 minutes and the filter lever was moved to the left. In addition, I set the wavelength to 500 nm with the wavelength control knob. Before the experiment, I had to create the blank solution by pipetting 0.1 ml of guaiacol, 1.0 ml of turnip extract and 8.9 ml water into tube #1. Following the creation of the blank, a control 2% solution was created.

Catalase is an important enzyme that protects cells from oxidative damage, which hydrogen peroxide can cause. It is an incredibly efficient enzyme where one catalase molecule can convert millions of hydrogen peroxide molecules each second.

Students will be observing normal catalase reaction, the effect of temperature on enzyme activity, and the effect of pH on enzyme activity in this experiment. The enzymes will all around perform better when exposed in room temperature than when it is exposed to hot and cold temperatures. This is based on the fact that the higher the temperature, the better the enzymes will perform, but as the temperature reaches a certain high degree, the enzymes will start to denature, or lose their function.

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

The data in proves that our hypothesis was correct. When we increased the temperature to 35°C, the the enzyme activity increased because kinetic energy increased, increasing the collisions between the substrate and the enzyme, and thus creating a higher chance of reaction. When we increased the temperature to 45°C, the enzyme activity decreased as the enzyme became denatured,because the atoms in the enzyme had enough energy to overcome the hydrogen bonds between the R groups that give the enzyme its shape From our data, we could conclude that the optimal temperature of turnip peroxidase is around 35°C and around 45°C, it will start to denature.

The null hypothesis for the first experiment was that substrate concentration would have no effect on the reaction rate. It was hypothesized that the reaction rate would increase with rising substrate concentrations, until all active sites were bound. The null hypothesis for the second experiment was that temperature would not have an effect on reaction rates. It was hypothesized that until the enzyme is denatured, as temperature increased, so would the reaction rate.

The effectiveness of peroxidase was measured in a varying pH environment. The environment’s pH can range from   1-14, 7 being neutral, 7-1 being more and more acidic towards 1, and 8-14 being more and more basic towards 14 (Raven, 2011).

An Enzyme is a protein, which is capable of starting a chemical reaction, which involves the formation or breakage of chemical bonds. A substrate is the surface or material on or from which an organism lives, grows, or obtains its nourishment. In this case it is hydrogen peroxide. This lab report will be explaining the experiment held to understand the effects of the changes in the amount of substrate on the enzyme’s reaction.

Enzymes are a key aspect in our everyday life and are a key to sustaining life. They are biological catalysts that help speed up the rate of reactions. They do this by lowering the activation energy of chemical reactions (Biology Department, 2011).

The purpose of this experiment is to learn the effects of a certain enzyme (Peroxidase) concentration, to figure out the temperature and pH effects on Peroxidase activity and the effect of an inhibitor. The procedure includes using pH5, H202, Enzyme Extract, and Guaiacol and calibrating a spectrophotometer to determine the effect of enzyme concentration. As the experiment continues, the same reagents are used with the spectrophotometer to determine the temperature and pH effects on Peroxidase activity. Lastly, to determine the effect of an inhibitor on Peroxidase, an inhibitor is added to the extract. It was found that an increase in enzyme concentration also caused an increase in the reaction rate. The reaction rate of peroxidase increases at 40oC. Peroxidase performed the best under pH5 and declined as it became more basic. The inhibitor (Hydroxy-lamine) caused a decline in the reaction rate. The significance of this experiment is to find the optimal living conditions for Peroxidase. This enzyme is vital because it gets rid of hydrogen peroxide, which is toxic to living environments.

“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).

What are the effects of different temperatures on the decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide with the Enzyme Catalase. Different enzymes work best at different optimal temperatures, and with this experiment we hope to discover which temperatures are unideal for Catalase. The substrate is H2O2 which binds to the active site of the enzyme Catalase. The reaction in question is as written below: