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# Enzymes ## Chapter 2-7 Enzymes are biological catalysts that speed up chemical reactions in living cells. Each enzyme catalyzes only one type of reaction, and since there are thousands of different reactions in cells, there are thousands of different enzymes. All enzymes are proteins. In chemi...

# Enzymes ## Chapter 2-7 Enzymes are biological catalysts that speed up chemical reactions in living cells. Each enzyme catalyzes only one type of reaction, and since there are thousands of different reactions in cells, there are thousands of different enzymes. All enzymes are proteins. In chemical reactions, reactants need an initial input of energy to start, called activation energy. Enzymes lower the activation energy, allowing the reactants to convert more quickly into products. An enzyme is a biological catalyst that accelerates a chemical reaction without being consumed or altered. Enzymes are often named with the suffix "-ase" (e.g., protease, lactase). Some enzymes are specifically named according to the reaction they catalyze (e.g., synthetase for synthetic reactions and hydrolase for hydrolysis reactions). Enzymes have an active site where reactants (substrates) bind. This binding forms an enzyme-substrate complex, where a chemical change occurs, creating products that are released from the active site. The enzyme is then recycled. Enzymes can be inhibited by several mechanisms: * **Heat:** Denaturing the enzyme structure. * **Acidic environments:** Denaturing the enzyme structure. * **Inhibitors:** Substances binding to the enzyme and blocking the active site. Competition between the substrate and inhibitor occurs for the active site. When large amounts of inhibitor are present, inhibition is more likely than the substrate reaction. **Note:** The image also contains a table and multiple reaction diagrams which are not detailed here, as they are not referenced in the question.