Biomimetic catalysis of intermodular aminoacyl transfer

Most chemical reactions in cells require enzymes—biological catalysts that speed up the reaction without being consumed or permanently changed. They reduce the activation energy needed to convert the reactants into products. Enzymes are proteins, that usually work by binding to a substrate—a reactant molecule that they act upon.
Enzymes exhibit substrate specificity, meaning that they can only bind to certain substrates. This is mainly determined by the shape and chemical characteristics of...

Oxidative phosphorylation is a highly efficient process that generates large amounts of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the basic unit of energy that drives many cellular processes. Oxidative phosphorylation involves two processes— the electron transport chain and chemiosmosis.
Electron Transport Chain
The electron transport chain involves a series of protein complexes on the inner mitochondrial membrane that undergo a series of redox reactions. At the end of this chain, the electrons reduce...

Cooperative allosteric transitions can occur in multimeric proteins, where each subunit of the protein has its own ligand-binding site. When a ligand binds to any of these subunits, it triggers a conformational change that affects the binding sites in the other subunits; this can change the affinity of the other sites for their respective ligands. The ability of the protein to change the shape of its binding site is attributed to the presence of a mix of flexible and stable segments in the...

The rate-determining step, or RDS, in a chemical reaction is the slowest step that determines the overall reaction rate. It is identified by using the observed rate law and typically involves approximation methods like the RDS approximation or the steady-state approximation.In the RDS approximation, also known as the rate-limiting-step or equilibrium approximation, the reaction mechanism consists of one or more reversible reactions near equilibrium, followed by a slower RDS, and then one or...

Heterogeneous catalysis involves a catalyst in a different phase from the reactants. It is a process where the catalyst and the reactants are in distinct phases, typically solid and gas or liquid.Most heterogeneous catalysts are metals, metal oxides, or acids. The list includes transition metals like iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), tungsten (W), silver (Ag), and copper (Cu). These metals possess partially vacant d orbitals that...

Carbon dioxide fixation in prokaryotes enables the assimilation of inorganic carbon into organic molecules, supporting biosynthetic pathways, sustaining ecosystems, and contributing to the global carbon cycle. It also has industrial applications in carbon capture and bioproduct synthesis. Autotrophic organisms rely on this process to utilize CO₂ as a carbon source in diverse environments.The Calvin CycleThe Calvin cycle is the most widespread carbon fixation mechanism, primarily used by...