Aim: Toinvestigate whether immobilised enzymes are less susceptible to denaturisationthan non-immobilised enzymes by measuring the time taken at differenttemperatures for the enzyme to denature.

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Aim: To investigate whether immobilised enzymes are less susceptible to denaturisation than non-immobilised enzymes by measuring the time taken at different temperatures for the enzyme to denature.  

Background Knowledge:

Enzymes are globular proteins, they act as catalysts (substances which speed up chemical reactions without being altered or destroyed in the process). All enzymes contain an active site; this gives the enzymes its catalytic properties. The active site has an affinity for the substrate, and is made of amino acids which usually do not neighbour each other but are brought together by 3D folding of the protein.

The different structures of the protein provide different functions for the enzyme. The primary structure is the arrangement of amino acids in the molecule and is therefore responsible for the specificity of the enzyme. The secondary structure develops when the polypeptide chain takes up a particular shape. This determines whether the protein is globular or structural. The tertiary structure is the 3D folding of the structure; this allows the enzymes to be re-used and forms the active site. The quaternary structure is when two or more proteins bond together forming a biologically active molecule.    

The active site is able to lower the activation energy (energy needed for a reaction to take place) by placing reactants in a closer proximity, correctly aligning them thus making a reaction more likely.

There are different factors affecting the activity of enzymes:

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Temperature

This can be explained by the kinetic theory. In that as the temperature increases, the molecules vibrate faster due to the increase in energy. Therefore the number of collisions increases. However if the enzyme has reached its optimum temperature and the temperature continues to increase, the enzyme molecule starts to loose its shape, particularly the tertiary structure. Due to the increased vibrational energy the tertiary structure starts to break down (however the bonds can reform if desirable temperatures are re-stated) and the enzyme is ...

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