Question

How are enzymes specific to substrates?

Answer 1

A substance that accelerates a chemical reaction without being a reactant is called a catalyst. Catalysts for biochemical reactions that occur in living organisms are called enzymes. Enzymes are usually proteins, although some molecules of ribonucleic acid also act as enzymes.

Complete answer:
Enzymes are unique to substrates and they have an active site that only allows those substrates to bind to the active site. This is due to the shape of the active site, and any other layer cannot be bound to the active site. It is the same as the active site of the enzymes and the substrate. Enzymes are particularly unique to a given substrate. They have an active site that has a good affinity to a particular substrate. It subtly alterations its conformation, known as induced fit, in order to match the target substrate and to allow the required improvements to the product formation. To catalyse a reaction, the enzyme will pick up (bind) one or more reactive molecules. These molecules are substrates of the enzyme. In some reactions, one substrate is broken down into several products. In others, two substrates come together to create a larger molecule. Because active sites are finely tuned to help with chemical reactions, they can be very sensitive to changes in the enzyme environment. Factors that may affect the active site and function of the enzyme include temperature and pH

Note: Enzymes work by binding to and holding reactive molecules in such a way that chemical bond-breaking and bond-forming processes take place more easily.