enzymatikus

Enzymatikus describes anything related to enzymes or enzyme-catalyzed processes. Enzymes are biological catalysts that accelerate chemical reactions in living organisms, usually proteins, though some RNA molecules (ribozymes) also have catalytic activity.

Enzymatic reactions are characterized by high specificity for substrates, an active site where chemistry occurs, and conditions that optimize activity such as temperature, pH, and ionic strength. Enzymes work by lowering the activation energy of a reaction, using mechanisms including acid-base catalysis, covalent catalysis, and metal-ion participation. Many require cofactors or coenzymes to function.

Enzymes are categorized by the reactions they catalyze, with six main classes according to the IUBMB: oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases, lyases, isomerases, and ligases. Substrate binding is often regulated by allosteric interactions and feedback inhibition; many enzymes are synthesized as inactive precursors (zymogens) that become active through proteolytic editing.

Applications of enzymatikus processes span medicine, industry, and research. Therapeutic enzymes treat diseases (for example, asparaginase or DNases), while diagnostic enzymes enable clinical assays. In industry, enzymes enable detergent formulations, food processing, leather production, textile processing, and biofuel synthesis, often offering milder conditions and higher specificity than chemical catalysts.

Etymology and usage: the term enzymatic derives from enzyme. The noun enzyme was coined in the late 19th century by Wilhelm Kühne; the adjective form in Hungarian and several other languages is enzymatikus, used to describe enzymatic reactions, pathways, or processes.