2.

5 Enzymes Essential idea: Enzymes control the

metabolism of the cell.

Above is just a small part of the IUBMB-

Sigma-Nicholson Metabolic Pathways Chart
aims to show all the metabolic pathways
found in eukaryote cells.
By Chris Paine
https://bioknowledgy.weebly.com/
Understandings, Applications and Skills
Statement Guidance
2.5.U1 Enzymes have an active site to which specific
substrates bind.
2.5.U2 Enzyme catalysis involves molecular motion and
the collision of substrates with the active site.
2.5.U3 Temperature, pH and substrate concentration Students should be able to sketch graphs to
affect the rate of activity of enzymes. show the expected effects of temperature, pH
and substrate concentration on the activity of
enzymes. They should be able to explain the
patterns or trends apparent in these graphs.
2.5.U4 Enzymes can be denatured.
2.5.U5 Immobilized enzymes are widely used in industry.
2.5.A1 Methods of production of lactose-free milk and its Lactase can be immobilized in alginate beads
advantages. and experiments can then be carried out in
which the lactose in milk is hydrolysed.
2.5.S1 Design of experiments to test the effect of
temperature, pH and substrate concentration on
the activity of enzymes.
2.5.S2 Experimental investigation of a factor affecting
enzyme activity. (Practical 3)
2.5.U1 Enzymes have an active site to which specific substrates bind.
2.5.U2 Enzyme catalysis involves molecular motion and the collision of substrates with the active
site.

Enzyme: A globular
protein that increases the
rate of a biochemical
reaction by lowering the
activation energy
threshold (i.e. a biological
catalyst)

Use the animation to find out more about enzymes and how they work.
A good alternative is How Enzymes Work from McGraw and Hill

http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0072495855/student_view0/chapter2/animation__how_enzymes_work.html
http://www.northland.cc.mn.us/biology/biology1111/animations/enzyme.swf
2.5.U1 Enzymes have an active site to which specific substrates bind.
2.5.U1 Enzymes have an active site to which specific substrates bind.
2.5.U1 Enzymes have an active site to which specific substrates bind.
2.5.U2 Enzyme catalysis involves molecular motion and the collision of substrates with the active
site.

• The coming together of a substrate molecule and an active site is

known as a collision
• Most enzyme reactions occur when the substrates are dissolved
in water The simulation from KScience
allows you to both see enzyme
• All molecules dissolved in water are in random motion, with kinetics happening and secondly
each molecule moving separately how it is affected by different
• If not immobilized the enzyme can move too, however enzymes factors
tend be larger than the substrate(s) and therefore move more
slowly
• Collisions are the result of the random movements of both
substrate and enzyme
• The substrate may be at any angle to the active site when the
collision occurs
• Successful collisions are ones in which the substrate and active
site happen to be correctly aligned to allow binding to take place
• Enzymes require a certain level of water in their structures in
order to maintain their natural conformation, allowing them to
deliver their full functionality. Furthermore, water can modify
the solvent properties such as polarity as well as the solubility of
the reactants and the products.

http://www.kscience.co.uk/animations/model.swf
2.4.A2 Denaturation of proteins by heat or by deviation of pH from the optimum.

The three-dimensional conformation of proteins is stabilized by bonds or

interactions between R groups of amino acids within the molecule. Most of these
bonds and interactions are relatively weak and they can be disrupted or broken. This
results in a change to the conformation of the protein, which is called denaturation.

A denatured protein does not normally return to its former

structure – the denaturation is permanent. Soluble proteins
often become insoluble and form a precipitate.
Heat can cause
denaturation:
vibrations Remember this slide? Enzymes are proteins and
within the denaturation is a key to how enzyme activity is
molecule breaks affected by temperature and pH
intermolecular
bonds or
interactions. Extremes of pH can cause
denaturation: charges on R groups
are changed, breaking ionic bonds
within the protein or causing new
ionic bonds to form.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Fried_egg%2C_sunny_side_up_%28black_background%29.PNG
2.5.U4 Enzymes can be denatured.

For enzymes a change in structure means a change in the active site. If the active site
changes shape the substrate is no longer able to bind to it.

Enzyme before denaturation substrate can bind to the active site

Enzyme after denaturation substrate can no longer bind to the active site

http://www.biotopics.co.uk/other/enzyme.html
2.5.U3 Temperature, pH and substrate concentration affect the rate of activity of enzymes.

Temperature, pH and substrate concentration can all affect the rate of activity of
enzymes.

Above are sketch graphs graphs showing how each factor affects enzyme activity.

Your aim is to be able not just to recreate the graphs, but to annotate and explain their
shape in terms of what is happening at a molecular level.
2.5.U3 Temperature, pH and substrate concentration affect the rate of activity of enzymes.

• Low temperatures result in insufficient

thermal energy for the activation of a
given enzyme-catalysed reaction to be
achieved
• Increasing the temperature will increase
the speed and motion of both enzyme and
substrate, resulting in higher enzyme
activity
• This is because a higher kinetic energy will
result in more frequent collisions between
enzyme and substrate
• At an optimal temperature (may differ for
different enzymes), the rate of enzyme
activity will be at its peak
• Higher temperatures will cause enzyme
stability to decrease, as the thermal
energy disrupts the hydrogen bonds
holding the enzyme together
• This causes the enzyme (particularly the
active site) to lose its shape, resulting in a
loss of enzyme activity (denaturation)
2.5.U3 Temperature, pH and substrate concentration affect the rate of activity of enzymes.

• Changing the pH will alter the charge of the enzyme,

which in turn will protein solubility and may change the
shape of the molecule
• Changing the shape or charge of the active site will
diminish its ability to bind to the substrate, halting
enzyme function
• Enzymes have an optimum pH and moving outside of
this range will always result in a diminished rate of
reaction
• Different enzymes may have a different optimum pH
ranges
2.5.U3 Temperature, pH and substrate concentration affect the rate of activity of enzymes.
2.5.U5 Immobilized enzymes are widely used in industry.

Common uses of enzymes in industry include:

Detergents contain proteases and Enzymes are widely used in the food industry, e.g.
lipases to help breakdown protein • fruit juice, pectin to increase the juice yield from
and fat stains fruit
• Fructose is used as a sweetener, it is converted from
Enzymes are used to breakdown the glucose by isomerase
starch in grains into biofuels that • Rennin is used to help in cheese production
can be combusted
Paper production uses enzymes to
In the textiles industry enzymes help in the helping in the pulping of wood
processing of fibres, e.g. polishing cloth to make it
appear more shiny

In the brewing industry enzymes help a

number of processes including the clarification
of the beer

In Medicine & Biotechnology enzymes are

widely used in everything from diagnostic tests
tests to contact lens cleaners to cutting DNA in
genetic engineering.
http://pubs.rsc.org/services/images/RSCpubs.ePlatform.Service.FreeContent.ImageService.svc/ImageService/Articleimage/2013/CS/c3cs35506c/c3cs35506c-f1.gif
2.5.U5 Immobilized enzymes are widely used in industry.

Advantages of enzyme immobilization:

• Concentration of substrate can be increased as the enzyme is not dissolved –
this increases the rate of reaction
• Recycled enzymes can be used many times, immobilized enzymes are easy to
separate from the reaction mixture, resulting in a cost saving.
• o
• Separation of the products is straight forward (this also means that the the
reaction can stopped at the correct time).
• Stability of the enzyme to changes in temperature and pH is increased reducing
the rate of degradation, again resulting in a cost saving.

Enzymes used in industry are usually

immobilized. They are attached to a material
so that their movement is restricted.
Common ways of doing this are:
• Aggregations of enzymes bonded together
• Attached to surfaces, e.g. glass
• Entrapped in gels, e.g. alginate gel beads

http://pubs.rsc.org/services/images/RSCpubs.ePlatform.Service.FreeContent.ImageService.svc/ImageService/Articleimage/2013/CS/c3cs35506c/c3cs35506c-f1.gif
2.5.A1 Methods of production of lactose-free milk and its advantages.
2.5.A1 Methods of production of lactose-free milk and its advantages.

Production of Lactose-free milk

• Lactase obtained from commonly from yeast
(bacteria is an alternative)
• Lactase is bound to the surface of alginate beads
• Milk is passed (repeatedly) over the beads
• The lactose is broken down into glucose and
galactose
• The immobilized enzyme remains to be used
again and does not affect the quality of the
lactose free milk

Other uses of lactose free milk:

• As a means to increase the sweetness of milk (glucose and
galactose are sweeter in flavour), thus negating the need for
artificial sweeteners
• As a way of reducing the crystallisation of ice-creams
(glucose and galactose are more soluble than lactose)
• As a means of shortening the production time for yogurts or
cheese (bacteria ferment glucose and galactose more readily
than lactose)
2.5.S1 Design of experiments to test the effect of temperature, pH and substrate concentration on
the activity of enzymes.
2.5.S2 Experimental investigation of a factor affecting enzyme activity. (Practical 3)

Catalase is one of the most widespread enzymes. It catalyses

the conversion of hydrogen peroxide, a toxic by-product of
metabolism, into water and oxygen.

Catalase
H2O2 H2O + O2

Possible research questions, what are you going to investigate (independent

variable)?
• What is the effect of substrate concentration?
• What is the effect of temperature?
• What is the effect of pH?
• Which type of yeast has a higher concentration of catalase?

Important things to consider:

• How are you going to vary the mass/volume/concentration of your variable?
• What units will you be measuring your variable in?
• Have you chosen an effect range or values to answer your question?
• Are the concentrations/chemicals you are using safe to handle?
http://www.scienceexperimentsforkids.us/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/hydrogen-experiments-for-kids-3-img.jpg
2.5.S1 Design of experiments to test the effect of temperature, pH and substrate concentration on
the activity of enzymes.
2.5.S2 Experimental investigation of a factor affecting enzyme activity. (Practical 3)

How are you going to measure your results (dependent variable)?

• Are you measuring the increase of a product or the dissapearance of a substrate?
• Are you measuring directly (e.g. testing for the concentration of the product) or
indirectly (change in pH)?
• What equipment will you be using to measure your results?
• What are the units and uncertainty given both the equipment and how you choose
to use it?
• What time period do you need to run the experiment for? How fast is the enzyme
action likely to be?
• How many repeats will you need to make sure your results are reliable?

http://www.scienceexperimentsforkids.us/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/hydrogen-experiments-for-kids-3-img.jpg
2.5.S1 Design of experiments to test the effect of temperature, pH and substrate concentration on
the activity of enzymes.
2.5.S2 Experimental investigation of a factor affecting enzyme activity. (Practical 3)

How are you going to make sure it is a fair test (control variables)?
• What variables other than your independent variable could affect the results?
• Why would these variables affect the results?
• How will you ensure each is kept constant and monitored?
• What level should they be kept constant at? If a control variable is too far from it’s
optimum then it could limit the enzyme action and no change would be seen in the
results.
• If a variable cannot be controlled it should still be discussed and considered as an
uncontrolled variable.

Safety and ethics:

• Are you using any equipment that may cause you or others harm? What steps have you taken to
minimize this risk?
• If you intend to use animals have you first considered alternative subjects?
• If you still intend to use animals are subjects have you ensured both:
o no harm comes to them as a result of the experiment
o The experiment does not induce stress or conditions beyond that normally found in their
natural environment

http://www.scienceexperimentsforkids.us/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/hydrogen-experiments-for-kids-3-img.jpg
Bibliography / Acknowledgments

Jason de Nys