5.
Enzymes
-an enzyme is a biological catalyst that speeds up chemical reactions without it being
altered by the reaction
-a catalyst is a substance that speeds up chemical reactions without it being changes
by the reaction. It can be biological (meaning produced by living organisms) or
artificial (man-made e.g. chemicals)
Properties of enzymes
a) They are proteins in nature- all enzymes are made of proteins
b) They are specific – each enzyme acts on a specific substance called a substrate
c) They are not changed by a reaction/they can be used again and again
d) They speed up chemical reactions
e) They have active sites – the part of an enzyme where the substrate binds,
leading to its break down or leading to substrates to join
f) Enzymes work best at a given temperature
g) Enzymes work best at a given pH level
How an enzyme works
-the enzyme has an active site
-the substrate fits perfectly into the active site forming an enzyme - substrate complex.
-the union of the enzyme and substrate brings about mechanical stress in the substrate
-the substrate breaks forming products e.g. A and B in the diagram below
-the enzyme becomes free again
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-maltose can also be broken down into simple molecules of glucose
- the actions above show that enzymes can take part in break down reactions- the
substrate is split into two simple products
-enzymes also take part in building up reactions – the substrates are joined
together to form a more complex product
-the enzyme action shown above shows us that: -
• Enzymes are specific (one enzyme-one substrate
• Enzymes take part in both build up and break down reactions
• Enzymes can be used again and again
The Lock and Key Hypothesis/Theory
-this theory states that the enzyme is the Lock and the substrate is the Key
-the substrate gets/fits into the enzyme’s active site, the way a key fit into a key hole of
a locker
-the keyhole is the active site in an enzyme, the lock
-in this theory the active site has a shape complementary to the shape of the substrate
-this theory is quite rigid, for it suggests that both the enzyme and substrate
are solids/ are not flexible.
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Effects of Temperature on enzyme-controlled reactions
-enzymes work best at a given temperature
-enzymes in humans work best at 370C-
Descriptions
if temperatures are too low, activity is low.
-as temperature increases activity increases and will be at its optimum at the
optimum temperature (400C in the graph below)
-further increase beyond the optimum temperature activity slows down until the
reaction stops
Explanations
-at low temperature enzymes are inactivated-they have very little kinetic energy so
both enzyme and substrate particles vibrate slow
-increasing heat energy increases kinetic energy and chances of collision increase
between the substrate and the enzyme molecules. Enzyme – substrate complexes
are created and reactions take place at the active sites
-above the optimum temperature, the vibrations due to too much heat energy break
down protein molecules causing them to denature
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-to denature is when an enzyme molecule is deformed and therefore loses the shape of
its active site. The enzyme then fails to combine with its substrate, no enzyme –
complexes are formed and therefore no reaction will take place.
Effects of pH on the activities of enzymes
-enzymes work best at a given pH
-different enzymes (pepsin, amylase, lipase, trypsin etc, work best at different pH
levels
Descriptions
-too low and too high pH slow down and even stop enzyme activities
-increasing pH and lowering pH back to its optimum pH, for any enzyme
increases the enzyme’s activity
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Explanations
-too low and too high pH denature enzymes, the protein molecule breaks down
or deforms due to changes in pH. The active site deforms also and enzyme -
substrate complexes are not formed
There are different types of enzymes
-enzymes are named and grouped according to substrates they digest or reactions they
catalyse.
-their names often have “ase” at the end
Substrate Group Name of Examples of Carbohydrate
enzymes enzymes digested
Carbohydrate Carbohydrases Salivary Starch
amylase Starch
Pancreatic Maltose
Amylase Lactose
Maltase sucrose
Lactase
Sucrase
Protein Proteases Pepsin Protein
Trypsin Protein
Peptidase polypeptides
Lipid/ Fat Lipases Pancreatic Lipid/Fat
lipase
Another enzyme is catalase, this breaks down hydrogen peroxide produced in cells
during metabolism. Hydrogen peroxide is toxic so it must be broken down to oxygen
and water
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