Enzymes and biological kinetics

[Keanu Ngo 3B]

What is the role of enzymes in biological systems, and how do their structures and kinetic properties enable them to catalyze specific chemical reactions?

[Thomas Tran 3D]

Hi,

Enzymes are biological catalysts that speed up biological reactions by lowering the activation energy required for the reaction to occur. Enzymes have a unique three-dimensional structure that enables them to bind to specific substrates and catalyze reactions with high specificity and efficiency.

Hope this helps!

[liamtran]

Some enzymes can catalyze reactions by placing the reactants in a stressed position that makes moving into the transition state easier; others provide an environment with more suitable conditions in terms of pH or polarity; others are able to orient reactant molecules in a way that facilitates the formation of new bonds. It all depends on the enzyme used and the surrounding environment.

[kaitlyn nguyen 2F]

I would also like to point out two kinds of catalysts: heterogenous and homogenous. Heterogenous catalysts have a surface designed for reactants to bind through adsorption, not to be confused for absorption, so it binds to the surface. Homogenous ones are in the same phase as the reactions, hence homogenous.

[Alex Ottersbach]

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze a reaction to make them occur faster. They can also regulate when and how reactions occur. They lower the activation energy of reactions so they can occur more frequently and quicker. Occasionally reactions would be impossible without enzymes but often they make reactions that would otherwise occur extremely slowly occur much quicker.