Why is Deprotonation Important in Enzyme Catalysis?
Enzymes often use deprotonation to facilitate their catalytic activity. For example, the enzyme carbonic anhydrase catalyzes the conversion of carbon dioxide to bicarbonate, a process that involves the deprotonation of water. This deprotonation step generates a hydroxide ion, which then acts as a nucleophile to attack the carbon dioxide, forming bicarbonate. Similarly, in the active site of serine proteases, deprotonation of the serine hydroxyl group is crucial for its nucleophilic attack on peptide bonds.
