Biomod/2013/NanoUANL/Enzyme
What is an enzyme?
Enzymes are biological macromolecules that catalyze the conversion of one or more substrates into one or more products or compounds, The activity is determined greatly by their three-dimensional structure. Most enzymes are proteins, although several catalytic RNA molecules have been identified. They may also need to employ organic and inorganic cofactors for the reaction to occur.
The process is based upon the diminishment of the activation energy needed for a reaction, greatly increasing its rate of reaction. The rate enhancement provided by these proteins can be as high as 10^19, while maintaining high substrate specificity. Because of this, reaction rates are millions of times faster than un-catalyzed reactions. Enzymes are not consumed by the reactions that they take part in, and they do not alter the equilibrium.
Enzyme activity can be affected by a wide variety of factors. Inhibitors and activators intervene directly in the reaction rate, environmental factors like temperature, pressure, pH and substrate concentration also play a part in these kinetics.
