Scribd
Upload
16 views27 pages

Enzymes

Chemical reactions in living organisms are catalyzed by enzymes. Enzymes are proteins that speed up metabolic reactions without being used up in the process. They have an active site that binds to specific substrate molecules. The rates of metabolic reactions are controlled by the presence or absence of particular enzymes. This determines whether a molecule like glucose is broken down or built into another molecule like glycogen. Enzyme activity is influenced by temperature and pH - they have optimal conditions and are deactivated outside those ranges.

Uploaded by

bingstondurai b
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
16 views27 pages

Enzymes

Chemical reactions in living organisms are catalyzed by enzymes. Enzymes are proteins that speed up metabolic reactions without being used up in the process. They have an active site that binds to specific substrate molecules. The rates of metabolic reactions are controlled by the presence or absence of particular enzymes. This determines whether a molecule like glucose is broken down or built into another molecule like glycogen. Enzyme activity is influenced by temperature and pH - they have optimal conditions and are deactivated outside those ranges.

Uploaded by

bingstondurai b
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 27

✯ Many chemical reactions can be speeded up by substances called catalysts.

✯ A catalyst alters the rate of a chemical reaction, without being changed itself.

✯ Within any living organism, chemical reactions take place all the time.

✯ They are sometimes called metabolic reactions.

✯ Almost every metabolic reaction is controlled by catalysts called enzymes.

✯ Without enzymes, the reactions would take place very slowly, or not at all.

✯ Enzymes ensure that the rates of metabolic reactions are great enough to sustain life.
❁The sum of all the chemical reactions going on within a living
organism is known as metabolism.
❁Anabolic reactions build up large molecules from smaller ones, and
usually require an input of energy.

The condensation of glucose molecules into the


polysaccharide glycogen is an example of
anabolism.
❁Catabolic reactions break down large
molecules into smaller ones, and often release
energy.

❁The breakdown of glucose into carbon


dioxide and water by respiration is an example
of catabolism.
What determines whether glucose molecules are built up into
glycogen or broken down into carbon dioxide and water?
☆Substrate: The molecule on which an enzyme acts.
☆ACTIVE SITE: The active site of an enzyme is the region that binds
the substrate.
❆Enzymes are proteins that
function as biological catalysts
—(catalysts speed up reactions
without themselves being
changed by the reaction).
❆The molecules that react in the
enzyme-catalysed reaction are
called substrates, and the
molecules produced in the
reaction are products.
❆Different enzymes are involved in
anabolic and catabolic reactions,
and so the presence or absence
of a particular enzyme controls
what will happen to a particular
molecule.
★ Enzymes are named according to the reaction that they catalyze.
★ For example, enzymes which catalyze the breakdown of carbohydrates are called
carbohydrases.
★ If they break down proteins, they are proteases.
★ If they break down fats (lipids) they are lipases.
★ Sometimes, they are given more specific names than this.
★ For example, we have seen that the carbohydrase that breaks down starch is called amylase.
★ One that breaks down maltose is called maltase.
★ One that breaks down sucrose is called sucrase.

Except for some of the originally studied enzymes such as pepsin, rennin,
and trypsin, most enzyme names end in "ase".
Some common enzymes Amylase Cellulase Lactase Lipase Protease
✦All enzymes have five important properties.
✦1. They are all proteins.
✦2. Each enzyme catalyzes one reaction.
✦3.They can be used again and again.
✦ 4. They are influenced by temperature.
✦5. They are influenced by pH.
✦ Enzymes are specific.
✦ Only molecules with the correct shape can fit into the enzyme.
✦ Just like only one key can open a lock, only one type of enzyme can
speed up a specific reaction.
✦ This is called the lock and key model.
✣All enzymes have active sites.
✣ Each enzyme has an active site that exactly fits its substrate.
✣This means that each enzyme can only act on a particular kind of
substrate.
✣Amylase, for example, cannot break down protein molecules, because
they do not fit into its active site.
☆A rise in temperature increases the rate of most chemical reactions.

☆A fall in temperature slows them down.

☆ However, above 50°C the enzymes being proteins, are denatured and
stop working.
This graph shows the effect of increasing
temperature on the rate of an enzyme-
catalyzed reaction.
✤A higher temperature speeds up the movement of substrate
molecules, so that when they collide with the enzyme they have more
energy and are more likely to bind to the active site.
✤ The enzyme molecules themselves also gain in energy as the
temperature rises so that they begin to vibrate.
✤Eventually the enzyme molecules vibrate so much that they become
denatured - they lose their three-dimensional shape and can no
longer bind to their substrate.
✤Because of this, high temperatures reduce enzyme activity.
✤Each enzyme has an optimum temperature, which is a balance
between these two effects, as shown in the graph below Most human
enzymes have an optimum temperature around 37°C, whilst for most
plants the optimum is rather lower at around 25°C.
✸The temperature at which the maximum rate of reaction occurs
is called the optimum temperature.
✸This is the best temperature for the enzyme.
✸ Here are some examples of optimum temperatures:
✸Fungal and plant enzymes: approximately 20'C.
✸Human enzymes: 37°C (body temperature)
✸Some of the enzymes produced by bacteria for use in industry: 90°C.
✾ The pH of a solution affects the shape of an enzyme.
✾ Most enzymes are their correct shape at a pH of about 7 - that is neutral.
✾ If the pH becomes very acidic or very alkaline, then they are denatured.
✾ This means that the active site no longer fits the substrate, so the enzyme can no
longer catalyze its reaction.
❋The three-dimensional shape of an enzyme is vital if it is to function.
❋Many of the chemical bonds holding the structure of the enzyme are
weak bonds.
❋ If these bonds that hold the enzyme molecule in shape are broken by
changes in pH, then the shape of the active site can be altered.
❋Small changes in pH can affect the rate of reaction without denaturing
the enzyme, but at the extremes of its pH range an enzyme becomes
unstable and denatures.
✾Some enzymes have an optimum pH that is not neutral.
✾For example, there is a protease enzyme in the human stomach that
has an optimum pH of about 2.
✾This is because we have hydrochloric acid in our stomachs.
✾This protease must be able to work well in these very acidic conditions.

You might also like