Q.(a) List the properties of Enzymes. OR

Enzymes are specific, reusable protein catalysts that speed up biochemical reactions by lowering activation energy, and their activity is sensitive to temperature, pH, and (for many) the presence of a required cofactor.

Enzymes are biological catalysts, and their important properties include:

1. Chemical nature — enzymes are (with a few known exceptions like ribozymes) proteins, folded into a specific three-dimensional shape that creates an active site.

2. Substrate specificity — each enzyme generally acts on only one specific substrate or a closely related group of substrates, because the shape of its active site must precisely fit the substrate molecule (lock-and-key/induced-fit model).

3. Lowering activation energy — enzymes speed up reactions by lowering the activation energy barrier that must be overcome for the reaction to proceed, without altering the overall thermodynamics (equilibrium) of the reaction.

4. Reusability — an enzyme molecule is not consumed or permanently altered by the reaction it catalyses; it is regenerated at the end of the reaction and can be used repeatedly, so only small (catalytic) amounts of enzyme are needed relative to the amount of substrate processed.

5. Sensitivity to temperature and pH — every enzyme has a characteristic optimum temperature and optimum pH at which its activity is maximum; activity decreases at temperatures/pH away from this optimum, and extreme heat can permanently denature (inactivate) the enzyme by disrupting its 3-D structure.

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