Coenzymes the last topic that I want to dicuss in this section is the idea of coenzymes, sometimes referred to as cofactors. Not all catalysis can be effectuated by amino acid side chains. Sometimes other structures are required. These are called coenzymes coenzymes can be large molecules or simple metal ions. They are held in the specific chiral environment of the enzyme.
Most coenzymes are mildly catalytic on their own, however the specificity of the catalysis is lost.
When bound to an enzyme, the group is oriented such that the reacting groups are placed properly with respect to the coenzyme, and the binding of the substrate to the enzyme dictates the stereochemistry of the process the list of enzymatic processes involving coenzymes is long. We'll look at specific examples as they come up in our look at metabolism. All rights reserved Page created by Dr.