Single-Molecule Chemistry: Enzyme Action and the Transition State

Abstract

Life is control. The trick to staying alive is to control your environment. Living cells need to take the resources available around them and change them into the molecules that need. To do this, cells build thousands of types of specialized proteins called enzymes. Each one performs a specific chemical reaction needed for living. Some break molecules into pieces; others connect molecules together. Some change the shape of molecules, and others change the chemical properties of molecules. Some capture energy in their reactions; others require energy to perform a particularly difficult reaction. All of these different enzymes work together to perform the many chemical tasks needed in the cell.