How an enzyme works

The structure of enzyme active sites and the nature of the catalytic process are reviewed. The impressive efficiency of these protein catalysts appears to stem from such factors as proximity and orientation of enzyme and substrate moieties, strain, and the occurrence of distinctive microenvironments within catalytic centres. Carboxypeptidase, lysozyme, and aspartate transcarbamylase, which have been extensively investigated by many techniques, serve to illustrate the application of these concepts.