Mechanisms and Free Energies of Enzymatic Reactions

Experiments and computational results based on Wolfenden's theories provide abundant evidence that the very large observated reductions of the free energy activation can be achieved through strong synergism of enzyme and substrate interactions although in other cases enzyme catalysis may involve covalent intermediates or a change in reaction mechanism as compared to a aqueous solutions. Gao et al summarize computational studies of the mechanisms and free energies of selected enzymatic reactions.