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Relating the chemical structure of an enzyme to its specificity and catalytic activity.
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An enzyme’s substrate is the reactant an enzyme acts on. The catalytic action of an enzyme converts the substrate to the product of the reaction while an enzyme and substrate bind. Enzymes are proteins (macromolecules) with individual three-dimensional conformations. The specificity of an enzyme is based on its shape. A small region of the enzyme binds to the substrate. This region is a pocket or groove on the surface of the protein, and is referred to as the active site. The active site is usually formed by the enzyme’s amino acids, while the framework that reinforces the configuration of the active site is provided by the rest of the protein molecule. A compatible fit between the shape of an active site and the shape of the substrate is attributed to the specificity of an enzyme. When the substrate enters the active site, it changes the enzyme’s shape slightly so the substrate can fit in the active site better.
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