enzimologia

Enzimología, or enzymology, is the scientific study of enzymes, the biological catalysts that regulate nearly all physiological reactions. Most enzymes are proteins, although some RNA molecules, known as ribozymes, also have catalytic activity. Enzymes speed up reactions by lowering the activation energy required for conversion of substrates to products and display specificity for substrates, reaction types, and conditions.

Enzymes typically have an active site where substrates bind, and interactions can follow the lock-and-key model or the induced-fit model. Many enzymes require non-protein helpers, cofactors or coenzymes, such as metal ions or NAD+ and FAD, to be functional.

Enzyme kinetics are described by models such as the Michaelis-Menten equation, with parameters like Km and Vmax that reflect substrate affinity and catalytic capacity. Enzyme activity is influenced by temperature, pH, and the presence of inhibitors (competitive, noncompetitive, irreversible) or activators. Allosteric enzymes show regulation by effector molecules.

Enzymes are grouped into six major classes: oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases, lyases, isomerases, and ligases. They are typically named for their substrates and reaction type, often ending in -ase.

The study dates from the early 19th century, with Payen and Persoz describing diastase (amylase) in 1833. The field advanced with Eduard Buchner’s 1897 demonstration that fermentation could occur in a cell-free extract, establishing enzymes as biocatalysts. Modern techniques in molecular biology and structural chemistry reveal enzymes at atomic detail and enable engineering of activity and specificity.

Applications of enzymology span medicine (diagnostic enzymes, enzyme therapies), industry (food processing, biofuels, synthesis), and research (assays, proteomics).