Vel's Vidhyasharam

Pallavaram
Chemistry
INVESTIGATORY Project
2019-2020
Topic : DRUG TARTGETS
AND ENZYMES
Acknowledgment

I would like to thank my chemistry teacher

Miss Priya and our respected principal Mrs. Vasanthi
Vishwanathan whose value and guidance has been the one
that helped me patch this project and make it full proof
success. Their suggestions and instructions have served as
the major contribution over the completion of the project.

Then I would like to thank my family and

friends whose valuable suggestions and guidance have
been helpful in various phases of completion of project.

Last but not least I would like to thank my

classmates who have helped me a lot.
Index
Topic Page no.

Introduction 3

Drug Target 4
Interaction

Enzymes as Drug 5
Targets

Drug-Enzyme 6
Interactions

Receptor as Drug 7
Target

Bibliography 9
Introduction

What do we do when we fall ill? We take medicines or

drugs to help ourselves get better, to heal our bodies. But
have you ever wondered how this happens? What is the
mechanism of these drugs and how do they control or
eliminate disease? This functioning of drugs can be
explained by drug target interaction. Let us learn more
about it.
Drug Target Interaction
Drugs are chemically synthesized chemicals that control,
prevent, cure and diagnose various diseases and illnesses.
They do so by reacting with various macromolecules in
the human body and elicit some form of positive
biological response. In pharmaceutical terms, the
macromolecule (or biomolecule) whose function and
activity is modified by a specific drug, is known as the
drug target.

This means the drug is designed to specifically target and

react with that specific biomolecule. These biomolecules
could be proteins, nucleic acids, receptors, enzymes,
hormones, ion channels etc. Here we will be focussing on
two of the main biomolecules when it comes to drug-
target interaction, enzymes and receptors.

Enzymes as Drug Targets

First, let us understand what enzymes are and how they
function. Enzymes are biomolecules in the human body
and they are a form of protein. Their essential function is
to be biological catalysts for certain reactions occurring in
the body. They regulate these chemical reactions, but
themselves remain unaffected by them.

The molecules that interact with enzymes are called

substrates. The reaction will produce new molecules,
known as products. The enzymes hold the substrate firmly
in their active site. This allows the reagent to react with
the substrate successfully. The enzymes hols the substrate
in the active site by a variety of interactions such as
hydrogen bonding, ionic bonding, van der Waal force etc.

The other function of the enzyme is to provide functional

groups that will react with the substrates to carry out the
necessary chemical reactions that support all our life
processes.
Drug-Enzyme Interaction
At certain times the actions of enzymes need to be
controlled and we do this with the help of drugs known as
enzyme inhibitors. Here the enzyme will be the drug
target, i.e. the drug will try to impede with the functioning
of the enzyme. This can be done in one of two ways,

Some drugs will rival the substrate by attaching

themselves to the active site of the enzyme. They are
known as competitive inhibitors. This will not allow the
substrate to attach itself to the enzyme, and so the reaction
will not occur. But if the concentration of the substrate is
far greater than that of the drug, such a method will not
work successfully.

Then the inhibitors known as allosteric inhibitors will

attach itself to the allosteric site of the enzymes. This is
any other site than the active site. By doing so they will
change the shape and structure of the enzyme. Now the
substrate cannot recognize the enzyme, and won’t attach
itself to the active site, thus inhibiting the catalytic
reaction.

Receptors as Drug Targets

Receptors are also a protein in our bodies. Their main
function is to facilitate communication, between two
neurons and between neurons and muscles. These
biomolecules help us communicate via certain specific
chemicals, known as chemical messengers.

Receptors are usually found in the membrane of cells.

They are embedded in the cell membrane in a very
peculiar way. Most of their body is contained within the
membrane. Only a small portion of the molecule projects
out of the membrane in the region outside the cell. This
region that projects out, contains the active site of the
receptor.

So when a chemical messenger approaches the receptor, it

binds to the active site of the receptor, and the shape of
the molecule will change. This will transmit the message
to the cell, inside the membrane. So the message will be
relayed to the cell, without the chemical messenger even
entering the cell.
 There are numerous types of receptors in the
human body. These receptors interact with many chemical
messengers. The receptors are able to identify their
particular messenger, because of the difference in the
shape, structure and the chemical composition of the
active sites. This allows the receptors and the messengers
to interact with selectivity.

The drugs that target these receptors do so by

impeding its natural functioning. They attach to their
active site and inhibit their actions, and block the
communication of the message. These are known as
antagonists, examples include naltrexone and
naloxone. Another way a drug targets receptors is by
mimicking the natural messengers. This activates the
receptors and will produce some kind of biological
response. Such drugs that elicit a response from
receptors are known as agonists.
Bibliography

1. www.toppr.com
2. www.imedpub.com
3. www.aglasem.com