Enzymes

Enzymes: Biological Catalysts 🧪✨

Enzymes are biological catalysts, meaning they speed up chemical reactions in living organisms without being changed by the reactions themselves. Intracellular enzymes function within cells 🏢, while extracellular enzymes act outside cells 🌍. Enzymes operate on substrates, forming products. The active site is where substrates bind 🔗, while other regions are called allosteric sites.

Basic Enzyme Reaction 🔄

Enzyme + Substrate ↔ Enzyme-Substrate Complex ↔ Enzyme + Product 🍽️

Characteristics of Enzymes 🌟

Protein Nature 🥩: Most enzymes are proteins.
Catalysts ⚡: Speed up reactions without being consumed.
Bi-Directional 🔄: Catalyze forward and reverse reactions.
Specificity 🎯: Act on specific substrates.
Influenced by Conditions 🌡️: Factors like temperature, pH, and concentration impact enzyme activity. Remember with “SEPTIC.”

Enzyme Specificity 🔑

Enzyme specificity is explained by the lock-and-key mechanism 🔒, where the enzyme’s active site has a unique shape fitting only specific substrates, like a key in a lock.

Factors Affecting Enzyme Activity ⚙️

Temperature 🌡️

Enzyme activity rises with temperature to an optimum level; beyond this, activity declines as enzymes denature ❄️.

pH ⚖️

Enzymes have an optimum pH. Acidic enzymes work best in low pH, while alkaline enzymes function in high pH environments.

Enzyme Concentration 📈

Reaction rates increase with enzyme concentration until saturation, after which the rate stays constant.

Substrate Concentration 📊

Reaction rates rise with substrate concentration until all active sites are occupied, leading to a plateau.

Inhibitors 🚫

Competitive Inhibitors 🥊: Bind to the active site, blocking the substrate.
Non-Competitive Inhibitors 🔄: Bind elsewhere, altering the active site’s shape.

Cofactors 🧬

Cofactors are substances aiding enzyme activity. Coenzymes 💊 (e.g., vitamins) and activators ⚙️ (e.g., mineral salts) assist in enzyme function.

Naming Enzymes 🏷️

Enzymes are named by adding “-ase” to their substrate, like amylase 🍞 for starch or lipase 🥑 for lipids. Proteases often end in “-in” (e.g., pepsin, trypsin).

Industrial Applications of Enzymes 🏭

Enzymes are crucial in various industries:

Detergents 🧼: Proteases break down protein stains.
Brewing & Baking 🍺🍞: Amylase breaks down starch in cereals.
Food Sweetening 🍬: Glucose isomerase converts glucose to fructose.
Dairy 🧀: Rennin coagulates milk for cheese.
Leather Tanning 👜: Trypsin softens leather.
Fruit Juice 🍹: Enzymes prevent jellying in juice extraction.
Meat Tenderizing 🍖: Trypsin is used to tenderize meat.