What features can enzymes change in chemical reactions?

Answer 1

Enzymes display three major types of selective advantages: Chemoselectivity: Since the purpose of an enzyme is to act on a single type of functional group, other sensitive functionalities, which would normally react to a certain extent under chemical catalysis, survive. As a result, biocatalytic reactions tend to be "cleaner" and laborious purification of product(s) from impurities emerging through side-reactions can largely be omitted. Regioselectivity and Diastereoselectivity: Due to their complex three-dimensional structure, enzymes may distinguish between functional groups which are chemically situated in different regions of the substrate molecule. Enantioselectivity: Since almost all enzymes are made from L-amino acids, enzymes are chiral catalysts. As a consequence, any type of chirality present in the substrate molecule is "recognized" upon the formation of the enzyme-substrate complex. Thus a prochiral substrate may be transformed into an optically active product and both enantiomers of a racemic substrate may react at different rates. These reasons, and especially the latter, are the major reasons why synthetic chemists have become interested in biocatalysis. This interest in turn is mainly due to the need to synthesise enantiopure compounds as chiral building blocks for drugs and agrochemicals. Another important advantage of enzymes are that they are environmentally acceptable, being completely degraded in the environment. Furthermore the enzymes act under mild conditions, which minimizes problems of undesired side-reactions such as decomposition, isomerization, racemization and rearrangement, which often plague traditional methodology.

Answer 2

Enzyme Catalysis is the catalysis of chemical reactions by specialized proteins known as enzymes. Catalysis of biochemical reactions in the cell is vital due to the very low reaction rates of the uncatalysed reactions.

The mechanism of enzyme catalysis is similar in principle to other types of chemical catalysis. By providing an alternative reaction route and by stabilizing intermediates the enzyme reduces the energy required to reach the highest energy transition state of the reaction. The reduction of activation energy (Ea) increases the number of reactant molecules with enough energy to reach the activation energy and form the product.

Answer 3

Off the top of my head;

They can change the structure of chemicals like proteins

They can add or break bonds whereby,

a new element/compound can be added to the initial chemical

and/or

bonds are created/broken within the structure.

Enzymes are basically biological catalysts, and the purpose of a catalyst is to make a chemical reaction more feasible

Answer 4

Enzymes are biological catalysts. Under the right conditions they are highly effective, but they are globular proteins and as such are denatured by heat and extremes of pH. Inorganic catalysts are usually unaffected by these factors.