What role do enzymes play in chemical reactions?

Enzymes are biological catalysts that significantly speed up the rate of chemical reactions in living organisms. They achieve this by lowering the activation energy required for a reaction to occur, which allows the reaction to proceed more quickly than it would without the enzyme. This is crucial in biological systems because many reactions would occur too slowly at normal body temperatures to support life processes.

Enzymes achieve this by binding to substrates and stabilizing the transition state, effectively making it easier for the reaction to convert substrates into products. This ability to enhance reaction rates without being consumed in the process is what makes enzymes essential for metabolic functions, digestion, and other biochemical processes in the body.

This understanding of enzyme function highlights their importance in various fields, including medicine and biotechnology, where controlling reaction rates can be critical for developing treatments or performing biochemical assays.