Answer to Question #221098 in Cell Biology for payal_butterfly

Question

Understand how the characteristics of enzyme are studied.

Answer 1

Enzymes are large biomolecules that are responsible for many of the chemical reactions necessary to sustain life. Enzymes are biological catalysts. They accelerate reactions, although they do not change in the reaction. Enzymes are proteins and, therefore, are folded chains of amino acids with a certain form. This form is determined by the sequence of amino acids held together by bonds, for example by hydrogen bonds. Enzymes accelerate the reaction by combining the reagents and reducing the activation energy necessary to initiate the reaction (enzymatic reaction).

Characteristics of enzymes are:

• Enzymes are highly catalytic and have high specificity.

• Absolute specificity when enzymes respond specifically to only one substrate.

• Stereospecificity is that enzymes can detect different optical isomers and react only to one type of isomer.