Enzymes Catalysts Catalysts are chemicals that speed up chemical reactions without being used up or changed in the process.

Many of the catalysts used by chemists are inorganic substances such as MnO and iron filings. Such catalysts are very general and catalyse many different reactions. Enzymes: Enzymes are organic catalysts made up protein. They are much more specific, with most enzymes only catalyzing one reaction. This means that the organism has much more control over the reactions taking place, because a general catalyst would affect many reactions that are not required or harmful. Lock and Key Model: Each enzyme has an area know as the active site. The shape and chemistry of this part of the enzyme are such that only one particular substrate can attach. Once, attached there will be a slight change to the shape of the enzyme-substrate complex that results in the reaction occurring (usually breaking down or building up molecules). Once the reaction occurs the products can no longer remain attached, so separate away leaving the active site free to attach to another substrate molecule. Effect of Temperature on Enzymes: All chemical reactions occur more quickly at higher temperatures. This is because particles move faster and make more collisions with sufficient energy for a reaction to occur. This is the same with enzyme-controlled reactions, because faster moving particles collide more with the active sites. However, at a higher temperature (much above 40 C) the enzyme vibrates so much that it starts to lose its shape; we can say it has denatured. The active site is no longer functions correctly as a catalyst. The change is usually permanent, so cooling the enzyme will not repair it. Effect of pH on enzymes Different enzymes work best at different pH, with each having an optimum. If the pH is too far from the optimum, the enzyme will work less efficiently and can become permanently denatured. Amylase works best at a pH of about 8, while pepsin (a protease) works best at about 2 or 3.