Allintitle:competitive inhibitors of enzymes work by
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In competitive inhibition of enzyme catalysis, binding of an inhibitor prevents binding of the target molecule of the enzyme, also known as the substrate.[1] This is accomplished by blocking the binding site of the substrate – the active site – by some means. The Vmax indicates the maximum velocity of the reaction, while the Km is the amount of substrate needed to reach half of the Vmax. Km also plays a part in indicating the tendency of the substrate to bind the enzyme.[2] Competitive inhibition can be overcome by adding more substrate to the reaction, which increases the chances of the enzyme and substrate binding. As a result, competitive inhibition alters only the Km, leaving the Vmax the same.[3] This can be demonstrated using enzyme kinetics plots such as the Michaelis-Menten or the Lineweaver-Burk plot. Once the inhibitor is bound to the enzyme, the slope will be affected, as the Km either increases or decreases from the original Km of the reaction.