Denaturation of Enzymes
- Disruption of the structure of an enzyme may result in a change of function or efficiency of an enzymatic system.
- In certain environments (e.g. incorrect temperatures or pH levels), the rate at which an enzyme catalyzes a reaction drops sharply, as the enzyme begins to denature:
- Bonds (eg. hydrogen bonds) holding the enzyme molecule in its precise shape start to break
- This causes the tertiary structure of the protein (ie. the enzyme) to change
- This permanently damages the active site, preventing the substrate from binding
- Denaturation has occurred if the substrate can no longer bind
Denaturation of an Enzyme Diagram
If environmental conditions are outside of the optimum, the shape of the enzyme may be disrupted leading to denaturation