What are Enzymes and How Do They Relate to Catalysis?
Enzymes are biological catalysts that facilitate biochemical reactions in living organisms. They are highly specific, often catalyzing only one type of reaction or acting on a single substrate. Enzymes work by binding to their substrates at the active site, forming an enzyme-substrate complex that lowers the activation energy of the reaction. This specificity and efficiency make enzymes excellent models for designing synthetic catalysts.
