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In biochemistry, denaturation is a process in which proteins or nucleic acids lose folded structure present in their native state due to various factors, including application of some external stress or compound, such as a strong acid or base, a concentrated inorganic salt, an organic solvent (e.g., alcohol or chloroform), agitation and radiation, or heat. [3]
Enzymes differ from most other catalysts by being much more specific. Enzyme activity can be affected by other molecules: inhibitors are molecules that decrease enzyme activity, and activators are molecules that increase activity. Many therapeutic drugs and poisons are enzyme inhibitors.
Non-competitive inhibition is a type of enzyme inhibition where the inhibitor reduces the activity of the enzyme and binds equally well to the enzyme whether or not it has already bound the substrate. [1] This is unlike competitive inhibition, where binding affinity for the substrate in the enzyme is decreased in the presence of an inhibitor.
Enzyme inhibitors are molecules that reduce or abolish enzyme activity, while enzyme activators are molecules that increase the catalytic rate of enzymes. These interactions can be either reversible (i.e., removal of the inhibitor restores enzyme activity) or irreversible (i.e., the inhibitor permanently inactivates the enzyme).
Nucleic acid metabolism is a collective term that refers to the variety of chemical reactions by which nucleic acids (DNA and/or RNA) are either synthesized or degraded. Nucleic acids are polymers (so-called "biopolymers") made up of a variety of monomers called nucleotides .
Enzyme catalysis is the increase in the rate of a process by an "enzyme", a biological molecule. Most enzymes are proteins, and most such processes are chemical reactions. Most enzymes are proteins, and most such processes are chemical reactions.
Enzymes are proteins that speed up chemical reactions necessary for life, in which substrate molecules are converted into products. [1] An enzyme facilitates a specific chemical reaction by binding the substrate to its active site , a specialized area on the enzyme that accelerates the most difficult step of the reaction .
Different proteins are degraded at different rates. Abnormal proteins are quickly degraded, whereas the rate of degradation of normal proteins may vary widely depending on their functions. Enzymes at important metabolic control points may be degraded much faster than those enzymes whose activity is largely constant under all physiological ...