Lecture 1 - Enzyme Kinetics I

Question 1

example of how drugs often alter enzyme activity:

Answer 1

HIV1 protease - target for AIDs therapy

four drugs used to treat HIV, interact with active site “tunnel”, drugs mimic a protein chain, but they cannot be cleaved by the enzyme and they block activity

Question 2

what do enzymes offer within biological practices?

Answer 2

enzymes offer catalysis which ensure the CONTROL of biological processes

Question 3

what is biological catalysis:

Answer 3

biological catalysis is a process in which an enzyme lowers the activation energy for a catalysed process

Question 4

what does the binding of an enzyme to a substrate provide?

Answer 4

a transition state

Question 5

two models of enzyme-substrate binding:

Answer 5

(1) induced fit

(2) lock & key

Question 6

summary of biological catalysis:

Answer 6

• enzymes increase rate of reactions
• they reduce the activation energy of a reaction making it more rapid
• enzymes do not alter reaction equilibrium
• enzymes are generally specific for a single chemical reaction

Question 7

what changes over the course of enzyme reaction:

Answer 7

during an enzyme reaction, substrate and product concentrations change

Question 8

to understand how the enzyme works, we need to:

Answer 8

examine the speed of reaction and the affinity of the enzyme for substrate

Question 9

to measure an enzyme catalysed reaction we need to:

Answer 9

identify something that changes to measure