pH

• • Enzymes are denatured at extremes of pH
  • Hydrogen and ionic bonds hold the tertiary structure of the protein (ie. the enzyme) together
  • Below and above the optimum pH of an enzyme, solutions with an excess of H+ ions (acidic solutions) and OH- ions (alkaline solutions) can cause these bonds to break
  • This alters the shape of the active site, which means enzyme-substrate complexes form less easily
  • Eventually, enzyme-substrate complexes can no longer form at all
  • At this point, complete denaturation of the enzyme has occurred
• • All enzymes have an optimum pH or a pH at which they operate best
• • When investigating the effect of pH on the rate of an enzyme-catalysed reaction, you can use buffer solutions to measure the rate of reaction at different pH values:
  • Buffer solutions each have a specific pH
  • Buffer solutions maintain this specific pH, even if the reaction taking place would otherwise cause the pH of the reaction mixture to change
  • A measured volume of the buffer solution is added to the reaction mixture
  • This same volume (of each buffer solution being used) should be added for each pH value that is being investigated