Question

Illustrate the lock and key hypothesis of enzyme action.

Answer 1

Enzymes:

1. A catalyst is a material that acts to initiate a chemical reaction, and enzymes are specialized compounds that catalyze biological events.
2. When the substrates are attached to the enzyme's active site, the enzyme catalyzes the reaction, and the chemical process begins.
3. The active site is the enzyme's specific place where it is linked with the substrate.
4. The substrate's attachment to the enzyme causes changes in the distribution of electrons in the substrate's chemical bonds.
5. This eventually leads to reactions that aid in the creation of products.
6. Products are released from the enzyme surface in order to recycle the enzyme for use in a subsequent reaction step.
7. The active site has a distinct geometric form that contrasts with the geometric shape of a substrate fragment.
8. This obviously indicates that the enzymes can only react with one or a few related molecules.

Lock and Key model:

1. A Lock and Key analogy may be used to describe the fundamental action of a single substrate enzyme.
2. In this case, the enzyme is the lock, and the substrate is the key.
3. Only the correct size key, which is the substrate, enters the keyhole, which is the active site of the lock, which is the enzyme.
4. Other keys that are too tiny, too big, or have wrongly positioned teeth do not fit into the lock.
5. Only the right-shaped key can open the lock.