Factor 1: Concentration of Enzyme
As the concentration of the enzyme is increased, the velocity of the reaction proportionately increases. This property is used for determining the activities of serum enzymes during the diagnosis of diseases.
Factor 2: Concentration of Substrate
In the presence of a given amount of enzyme, the rate of enzymatic reaction increases as the substrate concentration increases until a limiting rate is reached, after which further increase in the substrate concentration produces no significant change in the reaction rate. At this point, so much substrate is present that essentially all of the enzyme active sites have substrate bound to them.
Factor 3: Effect of Temperature
The protein nature of the enzymes makes them extremely sensitive to thermal changes. Enzyme activity occurs within a narrow range of temperatures compared to ordinary chemical reactions. As you have seen, each enzyme has a certain temperature at which it is more active. This point is called the optimal temperature, which ranges between 37 to 40CĀ°.
The enzyme activity gradually lowers as the temperature rises more than the optimal temperature until it reaches a certain temperature at which the enzyme activity stops completely due to the change of its natural composition.
Factor 4: Effect of pH
The potential of hydrogen (pH) is the best measurement for determining the concentration of hydrogen ion (H+)in a solution. It also determines whether the liquid is acidic, basic or neutral. Generally, all liquids with a pH below 7 are called acids, whereas liquids with a pH above 7 are called bases or alkalines. Liquids with pH 7 are neutral and equal the acidity of pure water at 25 CĀ°. You can determine pH of any solution using the pH indicators.
Factor 5: Effect of Activators
Some of the enzymes require certain inorganic metallic cations, like Mg2+, Mn2+, Zn2+, Ca2+, Co2+, Cu2+, Na+, K+ etc., for their optimum activity. Rarely, anions are also needed for enzyme activity, e.g. a chloride ion (CIā) for amylase.
