Enzymes Flashcards
Native Conformation
The most stable possible 3-D structure of a particular polypeptide
Proteins can be divided into the categories:
Fibrous proteins
Globular proteins
Fibrous proteins
Extensive regions of secondary structure, giving them a highly ordered, repetitive structure.
e.g. silk, hair, wool, tendons, skin, ligaments, blood vessels
Catalysts
Function to speed up a reaction without itself being permanently altered; increases rate of reaction
Enzymes
Biological catalysts, most of which are proteins, although some are RNA molecules (ribozymes).
Exergonic Reaction
Releases free energy (G), the amount of energy in a system that is available to do work.
Can drive a reaction OR be converted to mechanical energy for movement.
Activation Energy
The energy barrier that blocks the tendency for a chemical reaction to occur.
Transition State
The highest point of an enzyme reaction curve, at which the reaction can occur spontaneously with the release of free energy (delta G)
What do enzymes do for chemical reactions?
Lower the energy required for the reaction to occur and enables the reactants (substrates) to come together and react more easily.
Substrate
Bind to specific sites on the enzyme (active site)
Enzyme-substrate complex (ES)
The binding of the substrate to the active location produces this ES; can be bound by covalent, ionic, and/or hydrogen bonding.
What does the binding of the substrate to the active location do?
Binding of substrate to the active location on the enzyme produces an enzyme-substrate complex (ES); bound by covalent, ionic, and/or hydrogen bonding.
Enzyme Inhibition (and types)
Inhibitors bind to enzymes to slow down rates of the reactions.
Types: Competitive and Noncompetitive
Competitive Inhibitor
Molecule that competes with the natural substrate for the active site
Noncompetitive Inhibitor
Binds to an enzyme at a site away from the active site
