Temperature on Rate of Pnpp Hydrolysis
LABORATORY 3
The Effect of Temperature on the Rate of PNPP Hydrolysis
Partners:
Shelby Cruickshanks
Alexis Williamson
Introduction Most of the chemical reactions, which occur throughout our bodies, would proceed at a much slower rate of reaction without the presence of an enzyme. Cells can not wait for centuries for molecules to break down, if they waited for that, there would be no way for the organism to obtain energy or in turn survive. This is where biological catalyst comes into play. (Ophardt, 2003) In the year of 1836, Jacob Berzelius, introduced the concept of a catalyst (enzyme). By studying the effects of acids and bases in the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide he developed the notion of biochemical catalysts. There were many conflicting thoughts on this, and it wasn’t until Edward Buchner experimented on this topic in 1897 that this notion was generally accepted. (Metzler, 2001) The term “Enzyme”, derived from the Latin phrase “in yeast”, is an organic catalyst, most often proteins, that accelerate specific chemical reactions by lowering the required activation energy necessary for that reaction to occur. One enzyme in particular, Acid Phosphatase, is a critical enzyme in our every day biological functions. Phosphorus plays a vital role in energy transfer and metabolic regulation and is an important component of phospholipids and nucleic acids. (Hiroshi, 2001, Cavigis, 2001)
Furthermore, if molecules need less energy to react because of the lowered activation barrier, a greater amount of enzyme – substrate bindings are able to occur in a shortened amount of time, without being consumed or structurally denatured in the process. This being said, if the reaction happens to reach equilibrium, no catalysts would be able to cause the reaction to proceed. Although most enzymes are soluble globular proteins, research has discovered that some types of RNA molecules have catalytic activity as well. (Ophardt, 2003) In order for a
The Effect of Temperature on the Rate of PNPP Hydrolysis
Partners:
Shelby Cruickshanks
Alexis Williamson
Introduction Most of the chemical reactions, which occur throughout our bodies, would proceed at a much slower rate of reaction without the presence of an enzyme. Cells can not wait for centuries for molecules to break down, if they waited for that, there would be no way for the organism to obtain energy or in turn survive. This is where biological catalyst comes into play. (Ophardt, 2003) In the year of 1836, Jacob Berzelius, introduced the concept of a catalyst (enzyme). By studying the effects of acids and bases in the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide he developed the notion of biochemical catalysts. There were many conflicting thoughts on this, and it wasn’t until Edward Buchner experimented on this topic in 1897 that this notion was generally accepted. (Metzler, 2001) The term “Enzyme”, derived from the Latin phrase “in yeast”, is an organic catalyst, most often proteins, that accelerate specific chemical reactions by lowering the required activation energy necessary for that reaction to occur. One enzyme in particular, Acid Phosphatase, is a critical enzyme in our every day biological functions. Phosphorus plays a vital role in energy transfer and metabolic regulation and is an important component of phospholipids and nucleic acids. (Hiroshi, 2001, Cavigis, 2001)
Furthermore, if molecules need less energy to react because of the lowered activation barrier, a greater amount of enzyme – substrate bindings are able to occur in a shortened amount of time, without being consumed or structurally denatured in the process. This being said, if the reaction happens to reach equilibrium, no catalysts would be able to cause the reaction to proceed. Although most enzymes are soluble globular proteins, research has discovered that some types of RNA molecules have catalytic activity as well. (Ophardt, 2003) In order for a