answersLogoWhite

0

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.

User Avatar

Wiki User

17y ago

What else can I help you with?

Related Questions

Are enzymes permanently change in the chemical reactions they are involved in?

No. That is one of the definitions of an enzyme. It is NOT altered in the reaction.


What substances change the speed of your reactions?

Catalysts accelerate chemical reaction. Enzymes are examples of catalysts that speed up reactions in the body.


Enzymes control this aspect of chemical reactions?

Enzymes control the rate of chemical reactions by lowering the activation energy required for the reaction to occur. This enables reactions to proceed at a faster pace and with more specificity than without enzymes. Enzymes do not change the overall equilibrium of a reaction.


Is ripening fruit a physical or chemical change?

Ripening fruit is a chemical change because it involves the breakdown of complex molecules in the fruit resulting in changes in color, texture, and flavor. This process is driven by enzymes and chemical reactions within the fruit.


What do you call a special protein that help change substances during chemical reactions?

Enzymes are special proteins that help change substances during chemical reactions by speeding up the reaction process without being consumed in the reaction.


Do enzymes or lipids cause molecules to change?

Enzymes catalyze chemical reactions by lowering the activation energy, enabling molecules to change. Lipids, on the other hand, provide structural support in cell membranes and serve as energy storage molecules rather than directly causing molecular changes.


Is food digestion a chemical or physical change?

Its a chemical change.


What can change the speed at which chemical reactions take place?

Enzymes EDIT from a different person: No! Catalysts, Temperature, Pressure, Concentration, Surface Area.


Do enzyme or lipids cause molecules to change without themselves changing?

Enzymes are biological catalysts that facilitate chemical reactions without being consumed or altered in the process. They do this by lowering the activation energy required for a reaction to occur. Lipids, on the other hand, do not act as catalysts for chemical reactions and do not cause molecules to change without themselves undergoing changes.


Do enzymes speed up a chemical reactions?

Ensymes speed up a chemical reaction by acting as organic catalyst, a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change.


Is chemical reactions change?

Yes, a chemical reaction is a change.


Is fermentation a chemical change?

Fermenting cheese will become a chemical change not a physical change.