Factors Affecting Enzyme Activity
An enzyme refers to the molecules which can catalyze a reaction without being altered in that process. In as much as it cannot be tampered with while catalyzing a reaction, several factors can affect how best they can work. Some of the factors affecting their activity include substrate concentration, the pH levels and the concentration of enzymes. This paper, therefore, explains how those factors can affect the activity of the enzymes.
An increase in the concentration of the substrate increases the reaction of the enzymes. The increment in the reaction is due to the collision between the molecules of both the substrate and the enzymes hence forming more products. However, there is a limit to the concentration of the substrate under which the enzyme can increase their reactions. Beyond it, there will be no increase in the rate at which the reaction takes place since the concentration of the substrate will no longer be the limiting factor. At such a point, the enzymes will be saturated, and consequently, they will perform at their maximum possible rate.
When the concentration of the enzyme increases, the rate of reaction increases. This is due to the rise in the collision of enzymes with substrate molecules. However, the increase in the reaction will only work up to an absolute concentration, after which the concentration of the enzymes will no longer be the limiting factor. To understand the effect of enzyme concentration, the concentration of the substrate ought to be present in an excess amount.
The optimum pH levels of enzymes vary from one enzyme to another. An optimum level refers to a point where enzyme bonds are influenced by the hydrogen and hydroxide ions such that the shape of their active site is complementary to the shape of the substrate. At an optimum level, the reaction of the enzymes is optimum. A change in the pH out of the optimum levels slows the activity of the catalysts, while an increase in the pH will lead to the denaturing of the enzymes.