Why Is the Use of Enzymes in Medicine Beneficial?

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ESSAY- Skills I & J

The Use of Enzymes in Medicine

Enzymes are biological catalysts, which speed up the rate of a chemical reaction. They speed up the reaction by lowering the activation energy required to begin the reaction. Enzymes work at their optimum rates in specific temperatures and pH ranges. Enzymes are globular proteins with a tertiary structure, which determines the shape of its active site so they can only fit to one substrate molecule. When the active site of an enzyme and a substrate bind together, an enzyme- substrate complex is formed. As enzymes are never used up in a reaction this allows them to have several applications particularly in medicine.

Enzymes can be used to detect specific changes, their properties allow them to be used in medicine for analysing, diagnosing and treating purposes.

The most common use of enzymes in medicine is in biosensors. The biosensor used to detect diabetes is the most generic example of a commercial biosensor. Diabetes is a disorder when individuals are unable to produce enough insulin, which breaks down glucose. Biosensors can be used as medical analytical reagents to test the concentration of glucose in urine for diabetes. 'A test strip is used which contains a chemical indicator called toluidine and the enzyme glucose oxidase.' (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A3328355). The test trip is put into a urine sample and a colour change occurs. Using a colour chart the concentration of glucose in the urine sample can be determined. The colour change arises because the enzyme glucose oxidase converts the glucose into gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide. This means the changes in colour take place due the combination of hydrogen peroxide and toluidine.
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Genetic engineering and recombinant DNA technology is a recent development in science and technology, yet has proved to be very successful in treating various disorders. However without restriction enzymes or also know as restriction endonuclease there would be not be recombinant DNA technology, this shows how vital enzymes are to medicine. The enzyme has proved to be successful in helping people with diabetes and lack the protein insulin, haemophiliacs who lack the protein factor VIII, which allows blood to clot and also sufferers of cystic fibrosis. Scientists have been able to extract useful genes from the DNA with ...

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