Question

What 3 things can denature an enzyme?

Answer 1

Denaturation of enzymes:

Denaturation of the enzymes generally refers to conformational changes in protein structure & active site of the enzyme and also results in the inactivity of enzymes.

Factors that can denature an enzyme are:

1. Enzymes usually require an optimum temperature and pH for their action.
2. The temperature or the pH at which the compound shows its maximum activity is called the optimum temperature or optimum pH, respectively. As mentioned earlier, the enzymes are protein compounds.
3. A temperature or pH more than optimum may alter the molecular structure of enzymes.
4. Generally, an optimum pH for enzymes is considered to be ranging between 5 to 7.
5. Substrate concentration also plays an important role, as when all the substrates get saturated, then the enzyme does not bind to any site causing a limit.