Enzymes

In a living system, many complex reactions occur at the temperature of about 310 K. An example of this is the digestion of food, during which step-wise oxidation to CO₂ and water and energy production. These reactions are carried out under such mild conditions due to presence of certain chemicals which are called enzymes. They act as catalysts for biochemical reactions in living cells. Almost all the enzymes are globular proteins.

Enzymes are very selective and specific for a particular reaction. They are named after the compound or class of compounds upon which they work or after the reaction that they catalyze. The ending of an enzyme name is -ase. For example, maltase is an enzyme that specifically catalyzes the hydrolysis of maltose into glucose. Similarly, an esterase is an enzyme which induces hydrolysis of ester linkage.

Mechanism of Enzyme Action

Just like chemical catalysts, enzymes are needed only in small quantities. Similar to the action of chemical catalysts, enzymes lower the energy barrier that reactants must pass over to form the products.