Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 30, 2026

Combining Chemical Cross-linking and Mass Spectrometry of Intact Protein Complexes to Study the Architecture of Multi-subunit Protein Assemblies
Published on: November 28, 2017
Chemical insights from structural studies of enzymes
1Centre for Biomolecular Sciences, The University, St Andrews, KY16 9ST, UK. jhn@st-andrews.ac.uk
Abstract:
The rapid progress in structural and molecular biology over the past fifteen years has allowed chemists to access the structures of enzymes, of their complexes and of mutants. This wealth of structural information has led to a surge in the interest in enzymes as elegant chemical catalysts. Enzymology is a distinguished field and has been making vital contributions to medicine and basic science long before structural biology. This review for the Colworth Medal Lecture discusses work from the author's laboratory. This work has been carried out in collaboration with many other laboratories. The work has mapped out the chemical mechanisms and structures of interesting novel enzymes. The review tries to highlight the interesting chemical aspects of the mechanisms involved and how structural analysis has provided a detailed insight. The review focuses on carbohydrate-processing pathways in bacteria, and includes some recent data on an integral membrane protein.
Related Concept Videos
Induced-fit Model
Enzymes exhibit substrate specificity, meaning that they can only bind to certain substrates. This is mainly determined by the shape and chemical characteristics of...
Enzymes
Enzyme deficiencies can often translate into life-threatening diseases. For example, a genetic abnormality resulting in the deficiency of the enzyme G6PD...
Introduction to Enzymes
Most enzymes are proteins that speed up biochemical reactions without being consumed. Enzymes contain one or more active sites that bind the substrates and convert them into products. Many enzymes also...
Introduction to Mechanisms of Enzyme Catalysis
Protein Organization
The primary structure of a protein is its amino acid sequence.
Introduction To Enzymes
Most enzymes are proteins that speed up biochemical reactions without being consumed. Enzymes contain one or more active sites that bind the substrates and convert them into products. Many enzymes also...

