Biochemistry: Enzymes and Catalysts
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Questions and Answers

What occurs to the concentrations of products in a reaction when ΔG is less than 0?

The concentrations of products will increase until ΔG equals 0.

Explain how enzymes affect the activation energy of a reaction.

Enzymes lower the activation energy, thus facilitating the formation of the transition state.

What is the relationship between ΔG and the equilibrium constant of a reaction?

The standard free-energy change (ΔG°) is related to the equilibrium constant, as ΔG° can be calculated using the concentrations at equilibrium.

Define the Michaelis-Menten constant (Km) in the context of enzyme kinetics.

<p>Km is the substrate concentration at which the reaction rate is half of the maximum (Vmax).</p> Signup and view all the answers

What characterizes first-order reactions with respect to reactant concentration?

<p>In first-order reactions, the reaction rate is directly proportional to the concentration of the reactant.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the significance of the transition state in enzyme-catalyzed reactions?

<p>The transition state is the highest-energy species in the reaction pathway, and enzymes stabilize this state to lower the activation energy and accelerate the reaction.</p> Signup and view all the answers

How do coenzymes differ from metal cofactors in their role in enzymatic activity?

<p>Coenzymes are organic molecules that assist enzymes in catalysis, while metal cofactors are inorganic ions that also play a crucial role in enzyme activity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Describe the lock-and-key model and how it compares to the induced-fit model of enzyme-substrate binding.

<p>The lock-and-key model suggests that the active site of the enzyme is complementary in shape to the substrate, while the induced-fit model posits that the enzyme changes shape upon substrate binding to achieve complementarity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Why is substrate specificity important for enzymes, and can you provide an example?

<p>Substrate specificity ensures that enzymes catalyze only specific biochemical reactions, preventing unwanted side reactions; for example, proteolytic enzymes specifically hydrolyze peptide bonds between amino acids.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What defines a holoenzyme and an apoenzyme?

<p>A holoenzyme is the active form of an enzyme that includes its cofactor, while an apoenzyme is the inactive form that lacks the cofactor necessary for activity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Enzymes as Remarkable Catalysts

  • Enzymes speed up biochemical reactions.
  • Most enzymes are proteins, some are RNAs.
  • Enzymes stabilize the transition state (highest energy state in reaction).
  • Enzymes function optimally at specific temperatures and pH levels.

Enzymes Catalyze Highly Specific Reactions

  • Reactants in enzyme-catalyzed reactions are called substrates.
  • Enzymes are highly specific, like proteolytic enzymes that hydrolyze peptide bonds between amino acids.

Proteases Break Peptide Bonds

  • Proteases readily break peptide bonds.

Enzyme Cofactors

  • Many enzymes require cofactors (non-protein molecules or ions) for activity.
  • Coenzymes and metals are two main cofactor classes.
  • A holoenzyme is an enzyme with its cofactor; an apoenzyme lacks a cofactor.

Active Sites of Enzymes

  • Enzymes have catalytic and binding sites.
  • The catalytic site is where the reaction occurs.
  • The binding site (active site) is where substrates bind, forming an enzyme-substrate complex.
  • Binding is highly specific, promoting the catalytic reaction. (Lock-and-key and induced-fit models illustrate this).

Thermodynamics and Enzymes

  • Gibbs Free Energy (G) is a useful thermodynamic function.
  • The change in Gibbs Free Energy (ΔG) indicates if a reaction will proceed forward or backward.
  • ΔG depends only on the free energy difference between reactants and products.
  • ΔG does not indicate the speed of the reaction.

Enzyme Rate Acceleration

  • Enzymes accelerate the reaction rate but do not change the equilibrium point. Reaction will proceed to equilibrium quickly with an enzyme.

Michaelis-Menten Kinetics

  • Describes enzyme kinetics.
  • Km = Michaelis-Menten constant (a substrate concentration), and Vmax=maximum reaction rate.
  • kcat = turnover number showing catalytic efficiency of the enzyme (kcat/Km).
  • Plots (Lineweaver-Burk/Eadie-Hofstee) used to analyze the data for Km and Vmax

Allosteric Regulation

  • Allosteric enzymes have multiple active sites on different protein subunits.
  • Allosteric activators increase enzyme activity.
  • Allosteric inhibitors decrease enzyme activity.
  • Cooperativity = substrate can act as an allosteric activator
  • Enzyme inhibitors or activators bind to an allosteric site and not the active site

Enzyme Inhibition

  • Competitive inhibition: inhibitor competes with substrate for active site.
  • Noncompetitive inhibition: inhibitor binds to an allosteric site, reducing overall enzyme efficiency.

Examples of Enzymes

  • Examples of enzymes that follow Michaelis-Menten kinetics or not, like proteases (e.g., chymotrypsin) and others. (e.g., Phosphofructokinase, glycogen phosphorylase) given for reference

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Enzymes: Lecture Notes PDF

Description

Explore the fascinating world of enzymes in this quiz! Learn how these remarkable catalysts speed up biochemical reactions, their specificity in substrate interaction, and the role of cofactors. Test your knowledge on active sites, proteases, and the nuances of enzyme function.

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