Week 4 Post 2

When analyzing medicinal chemistry, one must talk about enzymes. The purpose of an enzyme is to speed up reactions in the body, allowing certain process to continue. Most people know that enzymes aid in the chewing and digestive process, however enzymes can be found in most cells. Enzymes have an active site, which is where the molecules attach to react. Inhibitor are molecules that stop enzymes from working. These can be man made or made by the body. When a body produces hormones, a inhibitor is usually released to prevent an excess of hormones. The main type of inhibitor is a competitive inhibitor. A competitive inhibitor links to the active site, preventing what is supposed to go there from getting there.

Most medicines targets enzymes, because the process it is supposed to be doing is halted or at least intensely slowed. The reason competitive inhibitors are the most popular in medicine is because the active site of a specific enzymes is unique, and the shape required to link to the site is also unique. However, if the researchers know what is supposed to bind to the site, they can build a molecule that will fit and therefore inhibit the process and block the enzyme.

Comments

  1. Ms. DunleySeptember 28, 2017 at 6:06 AM

    Can you explain to me why medicines target enzymes? Can I have an example so I can picture the process?

    ReplyDelete

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