What biochemical molecules make up enzymes?

1 Answer
Apr 29, 2014

There are so many different enzymes but the common thing is that they are made from proteins or, smaller, amino acids.

Enzymes are large biological molecules responsible for the thousands of metabolic processes that sustain life.They are highly selective catalysts, greatly accelerating both the rate and specificity of metabolic reactions, from the digestion of food to the synthesis of DNA. Most enzymes are proteins, although some catalytic RNA molecules have been identified. Enzymes adopt a specific three-dimensional structure, and may employ organic (biotin) and inorganic (magnesium ion) cofactors to assist in catalysis.

Something about cofactor:
Some enzymes do not need any additional components to show full activity. However, others require non-protein molecules called cofactors to be bound for activity. Cofactors can be either inorganic (e.g., metal ions and iron-sulfur clusters) or organic compounds (e.g., flavin and heme). Organic cofactors can be either prosthetic groups, which are tightly bound to an enzyme, or coenzymes, which are released from the enzyme's active site during the reaction. Coenzymes include NADH, NADPH and adenosine triphosphate.