How can an enzyme’s active site become damaged?
Enzyme activity can be affected by a variety of factors, such as temperature, pH, and concentration. Enzymes work best within specific temperature and pH ranges, and sub-optimal conditions can cause an enzyme to lose its ability to bind to a substrate. Extreme pH values can cause enzymes to denature.
What would happen to the enzyme If the active site was blocked?
The active site of enzyme would not bind perfectly to this reactant molecule, it would be a sub optimal binding of enzyme molecule to reactant. However, since active site of the enzyme would be occupied, it would not be able to bind to correct substrate and do its function.
How can an enzymes active site be damaged?
Changing the pH will affect the charges on the amino acid molecules. Amino acids that attracted each other may no longer be. Again, the shape of the enzyme, along with its active site, will change. Extremes of pH also denature enzymes.
How do enzymes get damaged?
Heat, disease, or harsh chemical conditions can damage enzymes and change their shape. When this happens, an enzyme doesn’t work anymore. This affects the body processes the enzyme helped support.
What two factors can cause an enzyme’s active site to lose its shape?
Temperature: Raising temperature generally speeds up a reaction, and lowering temperature slows down a reaction. However, extreme high temperatures can cause an enzyme to lose its shape (denature) and stop working. pH: Each enzyme has an optimum pH range. Changing the pH outside of this range will slow enzyme activity.
What blocks the active site of an enzyme?
A chemical that blocks enzyme activity by binding to the active site is called a competitive inhibitor. These types of chemicals have similar shapes with the substrate of the enzyme. This similarity allows the chemical to compete with the substrate for who gets to attach to the active site on the enzyme.
