ABSTRACT
Enzymes are catalysts for biological transformations. This chapter describes their function and classification for different reactions. It begins with an explanation of reaction kinetics in organic chemistry. Catalysts used in biological systems are called enzymes, and they speed up very particular chemical reactions. Enzymes typically are proteins that are able to exist in particular conformations such that they can form a reactive complex with a reactant, called the substrate that is converted to the product. Enzymes are obviously important to biological processes, however, and it is known that some enzyme reactions accelerate the biological process by forming a covalent bond between the enzyme and the substrate. The catalytic activity of many enzymes is blocked by molecules known as inhibitors, which mimic the substrate for binding to the active site. Biochemical catalysts are known as enzymes, and they facilitate and accelerate chemical reactions in living systems. Enzymes are catalysts for most processes in living organisms.
