In dictionary, mentions that a biocatalyst is an enzyme. This term (enzyme) refers to a protein whose function is to catalyze a specific biochemical reaction that develops metabolism.
Understanding what a biocatalyst is, therefore, requires us to know the Meaning of other concepts: otherwise we would not understand what the notion refers to. A protein is a substance that is made up of one or more chains of amino acids (organic chemicals). The action of catalyzing, for its part, refers to increasing the speed with which a reaction is carried out or to favoring this reaction in some way. The metabolism finally consists of all the chemical reactions that develop cells for degradation or synthesis of substances.
Taking this information into account, we can affirm that biocatalysts are responsible for facilitating cell reactions that are intended to degrade or synthesize certain substances.
Beyond the the SAR, it should be mentioned that vitamins and hormones are also often mentioned as biocatalysts, in addition to enzymes. Its presence in the body is essential since, otherwise, the chemical reactions would not have any order or could not even take place. Biocatalysts can increase or minimize the activation energy so that the reaction is slower or faster, according to need.
Vitamins, as we have mentioned, are also considered biocatalysts, which can also be classified into two groups:
-The water-soluble vitamins, which are not soluble in water and have the particularity that they are eliminated quickly through the urine. This category includes biocatalysts such as pyridoxine, folic acid, ascorbic acid, biotin or pyridoxine.
-Liposoluble, which are soluble in lipids and not in water. In this group are from retinol to tocopherol through calciferol or naphthoquinone.
Among all biocatalysts, enzymes stand out for their high specificity. These proteins are used in various processes, such as food production, beer making, and paper making.
In addition to all the data presented so far, we can highlight other relevant aspects about enzymes as biocatalysts, such as the following:
-They work by attracting reagents to their surface and fixing themselves to what is called substrate.
-According to their composition, they can be divided into two types: holoenzymes, which have a non-protein part (cofactor) and a protein part (apoenzyme), and the enzymes as they are those that are the result of the sum of one or of various protein chains.
-In the same way, it should not be overlooked that enzymes can also be classified into six main classes: transferases, lyases, ligases, oxidoreductases, hydrolases and isomerases.
-Enzymes have the particularity of having several important properties such as the following: they must have significant catalytic power, they must have specificity and reversibility, no less relevant is that they must be effective …
