Nerve gases operate by forming covalent bonds at the active...

Name: Problem 70, Chapter 22: Introduction to General, Organic and Biochemistry
Uploaded: 2021-09-29T04:57:41-08:00
Duration: 5 min 17 s
Channel: Sana Riaz
Description: Nerve gases operate by forming covalent bonds at the active site of cholinesterase. Is this an example of competitive inhibition? Can the nerve gas molecules be removed by simply adding more substrate (acetylcholine) to the enzyme?

Nerve gases operate by forming covalent bonds at the active site of cholinesterase. Is this an example of competitive inhibition? Can the nerve gas molecules be removed by simply adding more substrate (acetylcholine) to the enzyme?

Key Concepts

Active Site and Covalent Modification

The active site of an enzyme is the region where substrate molecules bind and undergo a chemical reaction. Covalent modification at the active site, such as the formation of a covalent bond by certain inhibitors, leads to irreversible changes in enzyme structure and function, effectively disabling the enzyme permanently.

Irreversible Inhibition

Irreversible inhibition involves an inhibitor that forms a permanent bond, often a covalent bond, with the enzyme, typically at its active site. This results in lasting inactivation of the enzyme, meaning that increasing substrate concentration does not reverse the inhibition because the enzyme itself is chemically modified and rendered inactive.

Competitive Inhibition

Competitive inhibition occurs when an inhibitor resembles the substrate and binds reversibly to the active site of an enzyme. This type of inhibition can typically be overcome by increasing the concentration of the substrate, as more substrate molecules can outcompete the inhibitor for binding to the enzyme.

Enzyme Inhibition

Enzyme inhibition refers to the process by which a molecule (an inhibitor) reduces or completely prevents the activity of an enzyme. This phenomenon is central to enzyme kinetics and is critical for regulating biological pathways and for developing drugs that target specific enzymes.

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