Gen Bio 100: Chapter 6.5 Enzymes

A substance that helps a chemical reaction to occur is a catalyst, and the special molecules that catalyze biochemical reactions are enzymes. Almost all enzymes are proteins, comprised of amino acid chains, and they perform the critical task of lowering the activation energies of chemical reactions inside the cell. Enzymes do this by binding to the reactant molecules, and holding them in such a way as to make the chemical bond-breaking and bond-forming processes take place more readily. It is important to remember that enzymes do not change the reaction's ∆G. In other words, they do not change whether a reaction is exergonic (spontaneous) or endergonic. This is because they do not change the reactants' or products' free energy. They only reduce the activation energy required to reach the transition state (Figure 6.15).

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