I was curious as to how enzymes work by means of concentration. That is, how do enzymes increase the effective concentration of substrates in a reaction?
Enzymes increase the effective “local” concentration of the substrate molecules simply by virtue of the fact that they hold the substrate molecules together in the same place which is the active site. Therefore, the reaction doesn’t have to rely on a random collision between substrate molecules in solution, as the enzyme essentially “pulls” the substrate molecules out of solution and holds them in one place and in the proper orientation for the reaction to occur between them. An enzyme helps catalyze a reaction that can take place only may be too slow. But I am having difficulty defining if these rxns are spontaneous or not and if an endothermic reaction could ever be spontaneous. Also, the book said that the active site of an enzyme can change, but your notes, I think, said this never happens – only the substrate changes. Yes, I am afraid that the terminology is confusing. A “spontaneous” reaction is any reaction in which the products have less energy than the reactants (substrates).
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