Catalysis enzymic, characteristics

Thus, many metal ions catalyze the hydrolysis of esters [7,8], amides [9], and nitriles [10] via electrophilic activation of the C=0 or C=N group. This type of catalysis is characteristic of coordination complexes and is very common in metalloenzyme-mediated processes. Zinc(II), for example, is a key structural component of more than 300 enzymes, in which its primary function is to act as a Lewis acid (see Chapter 4). The mechanism of action of zinc proteases, e.g., thermolysin, involves electrophilic activation of an amide carbonyl group by coordination to zinc(II) in the active site (Figure 4). 

Enzymes Characteristics and Mechanisms, p. 554 Micelles and Vesicles, p. 861 Surfactants, Part I Fundamentals, p. 1458 Vitamin Bj2 and Heme Models, p. 1569 Zeolites Catalysis, p. 1610... 

Maltose phosphorylase proceeds via a single-displacement reaction that necessarily requires the formation of a ternary maltose E Pi (or glucose E glucose-l-phosphate) complex for any reaction to occur. Exchange reactions are a characteristic of enzymes that obey double-displacement mechanisms at some point in their catalysis. 

Molecular characteristics of luciferase. A molecule of the luciferase of G. polyedra comprises three homologous domains (Li et al., 1997 Li and Hastings, 1998). The full-length luciferase (135 kDa) and each of the individual domains are most active at pH 6.3, and they show very little activity at pH 8.0. Morishita et al. (2002) prepared a recombinant Pyrocystis lunula luciferase consisting of mainly the third domain. This recombinant enzyme catalyzed the light emission of luciferin (luminescence A.max 474 nm) and the enzyme was active at pH 8.0. The recombinant enzyme of the third domain of G. polyedra luciferase was crystallized and its X-ray structure was determined (Schultz et al., 2005). A -barrel pocket putatively for substrate binding and catalysis was identified in the structure, and... 

Enzymes are proteins catalyzing all in vivo biological reactions. Enzymatic catalysis can also be utilized for in vitro reactions of not only natural substrates but some unnatural ones. Typical characteristics of enzyme catalysis are high catalytic activity, large rate acceleration of reactions under mild reaction conditions, high selectivities of substrates and reaction modes, and no formation of byproducts, in comparison with those of chemical catalysts. In the field of organic synthetic chemistry, enzymes have been powerful catalysts for stereo- and regioselective reactions to produce useful intermediates and end-products such as medicines and liquid crystals. ... 

Important inherent characteristics of an enzyme that should be considered are the substrate affinity, characterized by the Michaelis constant the rate of turnover fecat> providing the catalytic efficiency fecat/ M. and the catalytic potential. Several attempts to compare enzyme catalysis with that of platinum have been published. Direct comparisons are difficult, because enzyme electrodes must be operated in aqueous electrolyte containing dissolved substrate, whereas precious metal electrodes aie often supplied with a humidified gaseous stream of fuel or oxidant, and produce water as steam. It is not straightforward to compare tme optimal turnover rates per active site, as it is often unclear how many active sites are being engaged in a film of enzyme on an electrode. 

Zinc, in addition to its use as a Lewis acid in enzyme catalysis, plays a structural role in stabilizing protein molecules. It is also involved in a characteristic motif, termed zinc finger, in a number of eukaryotic DNA-binding proteins (that regulate the transcription of DNA into RNA), first described by Aaron Klug. 

For application of a biocatalyst we must know its basic properties, the substrate specificity and the kinetic characteristics. The substrate specificity is a relatively uncomplicated topic, it can be determined with simple experiments, and for the most important enzymes many data are available. Determination of the kinetic properties of an enzyme is a more complex problem. A detailed description of an enzymic catalysis requires extensive data about the stracture of the whole protein molecule, the stracture of... 

Enzyme has several unique characteristics—specific catalysis, regulation, biosynthesis, biodegradation, transport, etc. However, the first generation of enzyme models (or artificial enzymes) mostly deal with the simplest... 

Most of the machinery of living cells is made of enzymes. Thousands of them have been extracted from cells and have been purified and crystallized. Many others are recognized only by their catalytic action and have not yet been isolated in pure form. Most enzymes are soluble globular proteins but an increasing number of RNA molecules are also being recognized as enzymes. Many structural proteins of the cell also act as catalysts. For example, the muscle proteins actin and myosin together catalyze the hydrolysis of ATP and link the hydrolysis to movement (Chapter 19). Catalysis is one of the most fundamental characteristics of life. 

The outstanding characteristic of enzyme catalysis is that the enzyme specifically binds its substrates, with the reactions taking place in the confines of... 

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