Unit 3 · 3.1 — Enzymes [cite: 9, 28]

Everything to learn here

• Concept: Enzymes are specialized biological catalysts that accelerate the rate of biochemical reactions by lowering the required activation energy barrier [cite: 13, 29].
• Concept: Enzymes interact with highly specific substrates via their active site, forming a transient, physically bonded enzyme-substrate complex [cite: 14, 28].
• Vocabulary: Active Site — the highly specific, three-dimensional physical pocket on the enzyme where the substrate binds [cite: 13, 14].
• Vocabulary: Induced Fit — the slight structural alteration in the shape of the enzyme's active site to bind optimally and tightly to the substrate [cite: 14, 36].
• Vocabulary: Allosteric Site — a secondary, remote receptor site on an enzyme where the binding of an effector molecule alters the shape of the active site [cite: 14].
• Vocabulary: Cofactors & Coenzymes — non-protein inorganic ions or organic molecules that bind to enzymes and are strictly required for proper catalytic function [cite: 14].
• Vocabulary: Vocabulary: Denaturation — The loss of an enzyme's functional shape and catalytic ability due to environmental changes.

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