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The Use of Enzymes in Biotechnology.
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Felice Cartz Mrs Naranthera The Use of Enzymes in Biotechnology Enzymes are biological catalysts, which are able to speed up chemical reactions without changing their conditions. They work on compounds called substrate molecules, and can either break them down (catabolic reactions), or join them together to make new molecules (anabolic reactions). Enzymes lower the activation energy of a reaction, meaning that less ATP is required for it to take place. It is this which speeds up the rate of the reaction. Enzymes are globular proteins, which explains why they have a distinctive tertiary structure. Each enzyme has a different shape and forms a pocket known as the active site, which is where the substrate molecule binds. The shape of the substrate must compliment the shape of the active site, in order for it to function. This idea was put forward by the theory of induced fit. There are many different factors which affect enzyme...
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