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10: Enzymes and Vitamins

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    291676
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    • 10.1: Enzymes
      An enzyme is a biological catalyst, a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being changed or consumed in the reaction. A systematic process is used to name and classify enzymes.
    • 10.2: Enzyme Action
      A substrate binds to a specific region on an enzyme known as the active site, where the substrate can be converted to product. The substrate binds to the enzyme primarily through hydrogen bonding and other electrostatic interactions. The induced-fit model says that an enzyme can undergo a conformational change when binding a substrate. Enzymes exhibit varying degrees of substrate specificity.
    • 10.3: Enzyme Activity
      Initially, an increase in substrate concentration increases the rate of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction. As the enzyme molecules become saturated with substrate, this increase in reaction rate levels off. The rate of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction increases with an increase in the concentration of an enzyme. At low temperatures, an increase in temperature increases the rate of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction; at higher temperatures, the protein will denature. Enzymes have optimum pH ranges.
    • 10.4: Enzyme Inhibition
      An irreversible inhibitor inactivates an enzyme by bonding covalently to a particular group at the active site. A reversible inhibitor inactivates an enzyme through noncovalent, reversible interactions. A competitive inhibitor competes with the substrate for binding at the active site of the enzyme. A noncompetitive inhibitor binds at a site distinct from the active site.
    • 10.5: Enzyme Cofactors and Vitamins
      Vitamins are organic compounds that are essential in very small amounts for the maintenance of normal metabolism. Vitamins are divided into two broad categories: fat-soluble vitamins and water-soluble vitamins. Most water-soluble vitamins are needed for the formation of coenzymes, which are organic molecules needed by some enzymes for catalytic activity.


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