Properties of Enzymes

They work very rapidly

They are not destroyed by the reaction which they catalyse.
They can work in either direction (can catalyse a reaction which splits or joins substrate
molecules).
They are usually inactivated by high temperatures.
They are sensitive to pH.
They are specific to particular reactions.
How do enzymes work?
Enzymes are proteins which function as biological catalysts.
- Catalyst: A molecule which speeds up a reaction but remains unchanged at the end of the
reaction.
Almost all metabolic reactions are catalysed by enzymes.
- Intracellular enzymes act inside cells. While, extracellular enzymic outside cells (e.g.digestive
enzymes in the gut and the enzymes secreted by fungi outside their bodies to digest a
substrate).
There are two hypotheses as to how enzymes function:
- Enzymes are globular proteins with precise 3D shapes (tertiary structures).
- Enzymes have active sites, which are usually clefts or depressions to which molecules
(substrate) can bind to.
- After the substrate enters the active site, it is held into place temporarily by bonds which form
between it and the R groups of the enzymes amino acids (the enzyme-substrate complex).
- Each enzyme will usually bind to only one type of substrate molecule because the shape of
the active site will only allow one shape to fit (enzymes are specific).
- The shape of the active site insures that only substrates with a complementary structure will
combine with the enzyme.
- Interactions between the R groups of the enzyme and the substrate can help break or
encourage the formation of products.
- Briefly before the product is released from the active site an enzyme-product complex forms.
1. The Lock and Key Hypothesis: The idea that the enzyme has a particular shape into which
the substrate fits exactly, like a key (substrate) into a lock (active site), is called the lock and
key hypothesis.
2. The Induced Fit Hypothesis: The enzymes and sometimes the substrate molecule change
shape slightly as the substrate enters the enzyme to insure a perfect fit so catalysis is more
efficient.
Example: lysozyme
- It is a natural defence against bacteria, found in tears, saliva, and other secretions.
- It breaks down the polysaccharide chains in the bacterias cell wall (hydrolysis).
- The polysaccharide chains give the cell wall its rigidity, so when they break, the cell wall
bursts as a result of osmosis
Enzymes reduce activation energy.
- Before a substrate is converted into a product, it must temporarily receive some extra
energy called activation energy.
- Most reactions within organisms would go so slowly that they would virtually not occur, but
enzymes decrease the activation energy by holding the substrate in a way that allows it to
react more easily.
- To increase the reaction rate, you can also increase heat to provide the reactants with more
energy. In, humans the body is heated to about 37 (warmer than air around us).
When enzymes are added, a reaction rate increases swiftly but in time begins to decrease.
- This is because at first substrate molecules are in excess and the rate of reaction only
depends on the speed at which an enzyme can work (all the active sites are occupied), but
as the reaction continues there are less and less substrate molecules and enzymes end up
waiting for the next substrate molecule. As the number of substrate molecules decreases,
the reaction gets slower until it stops.

- The initial rate of reaction (found in the first 30 seconds of a reaction) is the fastest.
- The rate of a reaction can be found by measuring the mass of substrate or product in a
mixture at different times.