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Polymers, Amino Acids, Proteins and DNA

Enzymes, Active Sites and Inhibitors in Drug Design

  • 3 things to know
  • Papers 2 and 3

Overview

Enzymes as protein catalysts, the stereospecific active site, and how an inhibitor is designed to block it.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What is the active site of an enzyme?

Key term

What does stereospecific mean in the context of an enzyme's active site?

Key term

Why can a stereospecific active site only bind to one enantiomeric form of a substrate?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What type of biological molecule are enzymes?

    Model answer

    Proteins

  2. 2

    What is the function of enzymes in chemical reactions?

    Model answer

    They act as catalysts, speeding up chemical reactions without being consumed

  3. 3

    What is the active site of an enzyme?

    Model answer

    A specific region on the enzyme where the substrate molecule binds

  4. 4

    What does stereospecific mean in the context of an enzyme's active site?

    Model answer

    The active site has a specific three-dimensional shape that will only accept substrates with a particular stereochemistry

  5. 5

    Why can a stereospecific active site only bind to one enantiomeric form of a substrate?

    Model answer

    Enantiomers are non-superimposable mirror images with different three-dimensional arrangements, so only one enantiomer has the correct shape to fit into the specifically shaped active site

  6. 6

    What property of enantiomers prevents both forms from fitting into the same stereospecific active site?

    Model answer

    Enantiomers are non-superimposable mirror images of each other, meaning they have different spatial arrangements that cannot both match the fixed shape of the active site

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