Enzymes: Where:

• Catalysts of biochemical reactions. S = Substrate

E = Enzymes
• They catalyze nearly all the myriad reactions
P = Product
that occur in living cells.

• Un-catalyzed reactions that require

hours of boiling in the presence of a
strong acid or strong base can occur in
a fraction of a second in the presence
of the proper enzyme.

• The catalytic functions of enzymes are directly

dependent on their three-dimensional
structures.

Three common ways to increase a reaction rate:

1. Increasing the reactant concentration

2. Increasing the reaction temperature

3. Adding a catalyst

Rates of chemical reactions

Enzyme active site

• Catalysis takes place on a small portion of the

enzyme structure called the ENZYME ACTIVE
SITE.

• Often this is a crevice or pocket on the enzyme

that represents only 1 – 5 % of the total surface
area.
 Chemical equilibrium

The Enzyme Substrate complex

Factors affecting enzyme activity

† Enzyme Concentration

† Substrate Concentration

Enzyme Concentration