You may be unaware of the proteins that are crucial for our survival - enzymes. Enzymes are microscopic proteins that catalyze (accelerate) chemical reactions within our bodies. They’re also known as biological catalysts, or biocatalysts. Enzyme catalysis is extremely important for sustaining life and surviving. Let’s delve a bit deeper into the exciting world of enzymes!

As previously stated, enzymes are the microbiological proteins that catalyze chemical reactions in the human body. The most significant of these chemical reactions is metabolism, which you are probably aware of. Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions in human bodies that sustain life. It’s responsible for converting food into energy for cellular processes, converting food into building blocks for molecules and nutrients, and eliminating metabolic wastes. These chemical reactions, which depend on enzymes, allow us to grow, reproduce, maintain health and structure, and react to environmental factors.

Let’s focus on enzymes themselves and how they execute their function. Different enzymes have specific shapes for catalyzing specific chemical reactions. Substrates are the molecule reactants that enzymes act upon. Each enzyme also has a unique shape that looks like a chunk taken out of the enzyme. These shapes are called active sites, meant for acting upon specific substrates. There are also factors that affect the performance of enzymes, including temperature, pH level, and substrate concentration. The temperature causes the reaction to speed up if it isn’t too hot or too cold. The temperature at which an enzyme works best is known as the optimal temperature. The pH levels, if they are too high or low, can cause enzymes to denature. Denaturation is the process by which enzymes lose their shape and decline performance-wise. When there is a low substrate concentration, there’s less substrate for the enzyme to act upon, which also affects performance.