Understanding:
• Enzymes have an active site to which specific substrates bind
An enzyme is a globular protein which acts as a biological catalyst by speeding up the rate of a chemical reaction
Enzymes are not changed or consumed by the reactions they catalyse and thus can be reused
Enzymes are typically named after the molecules they react with (called the substrate) and end with the suffix ‘-ase’
- For example, lipids are broken down by the enzyme lipase
Active Site
The active site is the region on the surface of the enzyme which binds to the substrate molecule
The active site and the substrate complement each other in terms of both shape and chemical properties
- Hence only a specific substrate is capable of binding to a particular enzyme’s active site
Enzymes and Substrates
