The effects of temperature, pH, concentration and inhibition on enzyme action

Enzymes do not function as simply as was explained in 3.8 Enzyme Action because there are a wide range of factors
which affect their action. The main ones which you need to know about are discussed here.

Enzymes and temperature

Basic chemistry knowledge should remind you that molecules in a gas or liquid are constantly moving around, because
they have natural kinetic energy. They continually collide with each other, which can initiate a chemical reaction. When
the fluid is heated, their kinetic energy levels increase, and so they speed up, and the number of collisions become more
frequent and with more force per collision.

An enzyme can only catalyse a reaction if the substrate collides with enough force into the active site of the enzyme, so
that an enzyme-substrate complex is formed. It is the random movements of molecules which enable these collisions.

If we look at the beaker

beaker on the left, which
water
containing
molecule contains only water and
maltose solution
maltose dissolved maltose, we
water molecule know that the molecules
molecule
will all continually and
maltase
dissolved molecule randomly move around
maltose
and collide with each
molecule
other – this is known as
Brownian motion.

But when we add the maltose enzyme molecules (maltase), we enable reactions to take place more easily. When a
water molecule and a maltose molecule both collide with a maltase molecule, the reaction incurs, and the product
(glucose) will be produced. For details on the process of substrate-to-product, see 3.8 Enzyme Action.

So knowing that the higher the temperature, the more collisions and the more the
reactions, and also knowing that the presence of enzymes will increase the number of
Rate of reaction -
the speed of a reaction, or how
reactions, we can assume that an increase in temperature will increase reaction rate?
fast one reaction takes place
No – this is true up until a certain point, but too high
temperatures can cause problems with enzymes. This is because not only do higher
temperatures increase the speed of the molecules movement, but they also make them
vibrate, which puts strain on the bonds holding them in place. Weak bonds, like the hydrogen
and ionic bonds in enzymes are broken when they vibrate at high temperatures. The problem
is that these are the bonds responsible for maintaining an enzyme’s tertiary structure, and
more importantly, its active site. As more and more bonds break, the enzyme loses its tertiary
structure and the proteins unravel, so the enzyme can no longer function – this of course,
reduces reaction rate. This is called denaturation.

However, it is important to note that this does not affect the primary structure of the proteins which make up the
enzyme. The peptide bonds which give it the primary structure are covalent,
and so are not broken very easily.

Because increasing temperature improves the rate of reaction up to a certain

Denaturation -
when an enzyme is heated too much it
point, but increasing it too much will decrease the reaction rate, we say that
loses its tertiary structure as the
enzymes have an optimum temperature for operation (that is, the perfect hydrogen and ionic bonds holding it
temperature where they are at their highest efficiency). together are broken, so the active site
is destroyed – the enzyme is denatured

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 The optimum temperature Increasing the
for the work of an enzyme temperature beyond
will depend upon the optimum reduces
Increasing temperature reaction rate due to loss
enzyme, because they all
increases the rate of of tertiary structure
have different functions, they

Optimum temperature gives

maximum rate of reaction
reaction due to more

Reaction rate
all work best in different
kinetic energy
environments. The vast
majority of enzymes have an
optimum temperature of
o o
between 40 C and 50 C, but
those enzymes which must
be heat-resistant, such as in
organisms where having such
enzymes would be useless.
The high temperatures of
their environment would not 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
o
allow enzymes to cope. Temperature ( C)

Enzymes and pH
+
pH is a measure of the concentration of H ions, with a scale of numerical values from 1 to 14, where pH7 is neutral,
anything below is acidic, and anything above is alkaline (or basic). An acid is known as a proton donor (because
hydrogen ions are protons) and a base a proton acceptor.

Due to the positive charge of the hydrogen ion, it will be attracted to negatively-charged ions, molecules or parts of
molecules, and repel positively-charged ions, molecules or parts of molecules. The bonds in enzymes which hold its
tertiary structure and determine the shape of the active site are hydrogen and ionic bonds which both form according
to electronegativity. It is down to the different charges each amino acid groups have in the polypeptide chains.

Obviously, the charge of these hydrogen ions therefore means that they are going to interfere with the bonds holding
+
an enzyme’s structure. So increasing or decreasing the pH will affect the concentration of the H ions and in turn, alter
the enzyme’s tertiary structure. Again, this changes the shape of the active site, and also the rate of reaction.

Increasing or decreasing The optimum pH varies

the pH away from between individual types of
optimum value will reduce enzyme. For many of them,
the reaction rate because however, it around neutral pH
the altered concentration An extreme pH – pH7. Because enzymes
of hydrogen ions interferes can lead to normally work in a very narrow
maximum rate of reaction
Reaction rate

with the tertiary structure denaturation of pH range environment, a

Optimum pH gives

of the enzyme the enzyme

sudden drop or increase in pH
will cause the rate of reaction
to decrease dramatically.

A minor change in the pH will

not, however, cause an enzyme
to denature. The bonds will still
be disrupted, but not always to
5 6 7 8 an extreme effect, they can be
pH reformed. However, extreme
pH changes may lead to
denaturation.

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 Enzymes and concentration
There are two things to consider here: we can change the concentration of the substrate, or change the concentration
of the enzymes. Either way, the reaction rate will change…

First of all, let’s consider changing the

concentration of the substrate for a fixed
All enzymes present concentration of enzyme molecules. It goes
are working at their without saying, if there is no substrate
Initial reaction rate

maximum possible present, the enzyme-substrate complex

rate cannot form – no reaction. So quite
obviously, the more substrate there is, the
more collisions there will be and so there will
Increased substrate
concentration leads to be more reactions between the substrate
increase reaction rate and the active site. But there will be a point
at where the rate of reaction reaches its top
value (Vmax). The rate cannot increase any
more than this point, because all the
Substrate concentration enzymes present are working at their fastest
possible rates, forming enzyme-substrate
▲ Graph to show the relationship between substrate concentration and
complexes and releasing product. We say
reaction rate; note that the concentration of enzymes is fixed
that at this point, the substrate is in excess.

We can also examine what happens when the concentration of enzymes changes over a fixed concentration of
substrate molecules. A similar relationship would be observed. As the enzyme concentration increases, more active
sites become available to form enzyme-substrate complexes with substrates. As more and more of them form, the
reaction rate increases. But again, adding more and more enzymes, you will eventually reach a point where all the
substrate molecules are occupying enzymes’ active sites, so the enzymes are in excess.

The graph shows (with the solid line) this

If substrate concentration is
relationship. The line levels off when the
increased, rate of reaction
could also enzymes are in excess, i.e. there are free
enzymes laying around with no substrate to
Initial reaction rate

use.
(Fixed concentration of
substrate) Rate of But the Vmax of this can be increased by
reaction increases until altering the substrate concentration. If you
enzymes are in excess increase the number of available substrate
molecules, the free enzymes will be able to
react with them, therefore the rate of
reaction will continue exponentially so long
as the appropriate substrate concentration
increases alongside it.
Enzyme concentration
Because the concentration of substrates
▲ Graph to show the relationship between enzyme concentration and
stops the reaction rate increasing in the
reaction rate
graph, we call it the limiting factor.

Enzymes and inhibitors

There is one final factor to consider. An inhibitor is a substance which reduces the rate of an enzyme-controlled
reaction by affecting the enzymes involved in some way. Some inhibitors change the shape of the active site, whereas
others affect other parts of the molecules, which eventually will affect the active site, inhibiting its function.

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 A competitive inhibitor is a molecule which has a similar shape to the substrate required by an enzyme. This enables it
to fill the active site, forming the enzyme-inhibitor complex. However, because the inhibitor is not identical to the
substrate the enzyme is used to, no product is formed, and no reaction is induced. Inhibitors reduce reaction rate
because when an inhibitor occupies the active site, a substrate cannot – so fewer reactions can happen.

substrate

The competitive inhibitor

fits into the active site and
competitive
so a substrate cannot enter The rate of inhibition depends on the
enzyme inhibitor
relative concentration of substrate and
inhibitor molecules – more inhibitor
molecules present mean more collide
The diagrams show how competitive inhibitors work, and explain how the level of with the active sites and inhibit
inhibition is caused by the concentration of inhibitor molecules, compared to the substrates from entering them
concentration of substrate molecules.

The graph displays the relationship of the

without inhibitor
competitive inhibitor on the rate of reaction.
Increasing the concentration of the substrate
Initial reaction rate

would essentially dilute the effect of the

inhibitor, because it increases the number of
collisions between substrate and active site,
and decreases the number of collisions
between inhibitor and active site.

There is another type of inhibitor, called a with a fixed

non-competitive inhibitor. These, as the name concentration of
competitive inhibitor
suggests, do not compete with substrate
molecules for a place in the active site.
Instead, they attach to another region. Substrate concentration

Non-competitive inhibitors attach themselves to a part of the enzyme away from the active site. This distorts the
tertiary structure of the enzyme, and in turn the active site, preventing substrate molecules form being able to enter it.
This of course, reduces the rate of reaction.
enzyme
substrate
Initial reaction rate

without inhibitor
non-competitive The enzyme-substrate
with non-competitive inhibitor inhibitor complex cannot form
Most competitive inhibitors do not bind
permanently to the active site of an enzyme.
They will tend to remain there for a short period
and then leave. However, many of the non-
Substrate concentration competitive inhibitors will bind to an enzyme
permanently (permanent inhibitors).

If an enzyme is permanently-inhibited by an inhibitor, it is effectively denatured.

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