An Enzyme Inhibitor interferes with an enzyme on a temporary or permanent basis causing it to reduce the rate of reaction of an enzyme catalysed reaction.
Nonspecific Inhibitors
- Non Specific Inhibitors are those that affect all enzymes under the same conditions, this usually is the result of physical or chemical changes causing the enzyme to denature.
- Examples of Nonspecific Inhibitors:
- Low/High temperature
- Extreme Low/High pH
Competitive Inhibitors
- Competitive Inhibitors compete with substrates for positions at the enzymes active site.
- They usually have a shape close to the substrate. The inhibitor blocks the site for other enzymes to attach.
- The result slows down the reaction, rather than stops it.
Non Competitive Inhibitors
- Non-competitive inhibitors do not compete with the substrate, it binds to the allosteric site.
- As a result the active site of the enzyme changes.
- Thus, the substrate cannot bond to it. If the non-competitive inhibitor releases, then the enzyme restores back to normal.
- It slows the reaction down rather than stops it.
