Enzymes are protein catalysts that speed up the rate of specific biological reactions. The first thing to notice in enzyme characteristics is that enzymes are almost all proteins, often globular proteins. They are long chains of amino acid units held together by peptide bonds. Enzymes are much more specific than simple catalysts. Numerous reactions occur within a cell and it is the enzyme’s job to assist by reducing the activation energy required to set a reaction going. The name enzyme was suggested in 1867 by a German physiologist Wilhelm Kuhne. It was later, in 1894, a German biochemist Emil Fischer found the “lock and key” hypothesis of enzyme action. (http://www.chem.wsu.edu 1)
A catalyst is defined as a substance that sp
The hotter the temperature, the more catalyst activity was present. However when the liver extract was tested at 85 C there was no catalyst activity. The colder the temperature, the lower the catalyst activity.
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