BMB 401 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Enzyme Catalysis, Reaction Rate, Enzyme

• School: University of Miami
• Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Course: BMB 401
• Professor: All

Document Summary

Enzymes are biological catalysts they are almost exclusively proteins though some rnas (ribozymes) also serve as biological catalysts (eg mrna translation) Enzymes differ from chemical catalysts in reaction rate, reaction conditions, reaction specificity, and regulatory control. The unique physical and chemical properties of the active site limit an enzyme"s activity to specific substrates and reactions. Enzymes may also require cofactors for their catalytic activity. Slide 4 differences between enzymes and catalysts. Slide 5 enzyme classification: six major classes. Enzymatically-catalyzed reactions are typically 106 to 1012 times faster than their uncatalyzed counterparts due to their high specificity. Enzyme specificity is largely defined by the shape/chemistry (geometric specificity) and chirality/asymmetry (stereospecificity) of interacting surfaces of both the enzyme and substrate. Geometric specificity is concerned with the shape and the amino acid functional groups lining the interacting surfaces of both the enzyme and substrate: Substrate binding cleft within the enzyme active site is geometrically complementary to the shape of the substrate.