enzymologia

Enzymology is the branch of biochemistry that studies enzymes, the biological catalysts that accelerate chemical reactions in living organisms. Enzymes are typically proteins, though some RNA molecules also have catalytic properties (ribozymes). The field covers enzyme structure, function, kinetics, regulation, purification, and their applications in medicine, industry, and research.

Historically, enzymology emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Eduard Buchner’s discovery that fermentation could proceed with cell-free extracts demonstrated that soluble substances could catalyze reactions, establishing the enzymatic nature of catalysis. Since then, concepts such as enzyme specificity, active sites, and mechanisms of catalysis have become central. Michaelis-Menten kinetics and the induced-fit model have shaped understanding of how enzymes interact with substrates and regulate activity.

Enzymes are classified by the Enzyme Commission (EC) into six major classes: oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases, lyases, isomerases, and ligases. Kinetic parameters, including Km, Vmax, and kcat, describe how efficiently enzymes convert substrates into products under varying conditions. Enzyme activity is regulated by factors such as allosteric effectors, covalent modification, pH, temperature, and cellular compartmentalization. Techniques for studying enzymes include purification by chromatography, activity assays, spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy, and computational modeling.

Applications of enzymology span medicine (drug targeting, enzyme replacement therapy), diagnostics, industrial biocatalysis (pharmaceutical synthesis, food processing, biofuel production), and agriculture. The field continues to integrate structural biology, systems biology, and biotechnology to understand and harness enzyme function in health and industry.