What physicians need to know about restrictive covenants. Roy W. BreitenbachThe mention of restrictive covenants provokes an almost visceral reaction among most physicians. But keep in mind these covenants are, for the most part, enforceable.
An enzyme inhibitor is a molecule that binds to an enzyme and decreases its activity. Since blocking an enzyme's activity can kill a pathogen or correct a metabolic imbalance, many drugs are enzyme inhibitors. medicinal enzyme inhibitor is often judged by its specificity (its lack of binding to other proteins) and its potency (its dissociation constant, which indicates the concentration needed to inhibit the enzyme). A high specificity and potency ensure that a drug will have few side effects and thus low toxicity.
Enzymes are biological catalysts. Catalysts lower the activation energy for reactions. The lower the activation energy for a reaction, the faster the rate. Thus enzymes speed up reactions by lowering activation energy. Many enzymes change shape when substrates bind. This is termed induced fit, meaning that the precise orientation of the enzyme required for catalytic activity can be induced by the binding of the substrate. Enzymes have active sites.