| Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary 3,906,189,373 visitors served. |
Dictionary/ thesaurus | Medical dictionary | Legal dictionary | Financial dictionary | Acronyms | Idioms | Encyclopedia | Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
Prosthetic Group |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Wikipedia | 0.01 sec. |
|
|
prosthetic group, non-amino acid portions of certain protein protein, any of the group of highly complex organic compounds found in all living cells and comprising the most abundant class of all biological molecules. Protein comprises approximately 50% of cellular dry weight.
..... Click the link for more information. molecules. The key part of the prosthetic group may be either organic (such as a vitamin vitamin, group of organic substances that are required in the diet of humans and animals for normal growth, maintenance of life, and normal reproduction. Vitamins act as catalysts; very often either the vitamins themselves are coenzymes, or they form integral parts ..... Click the link for more information. ) or inorganic (such as a metal) and is usually required for biological activity, especially when the prosthetic group is complexed with an enzyme enzyme, biological catalyst. The term enzyme comes from zymosis, the Greek word for fermentation, a process accomplished by yeast cells and long known to the brewing industry, which occupied the attention of many 19th-century chemists. ..... Click the link for more information. . prosthetic group [präs′thed·ik ′grüp] (biochemistry) A characteristic nonamino acid substance that is strongly bound to a protein and necessary for the protein portion of an enzyme to function; often used to describe the function, as in hemeprotein for hemoglobin. Prosthetic Group an organic and nonprotein compound that forms a part of conjugated proteins. In enzymatic catalysis the prosthetic group is usually referred to as a coenzyme. Coenzymes are firmly bonded to the protein part of a biocatalyst by an apoenzyme and remain affixed to the protein molecule for the duration of the catalysis; examples of coenzymes include lipoic acid, riboflavin, biotin, and hemes. Carrier coenzymes differ from prosthetic groups. The activity of carrier coenzymes is associated with their transfer from one enzyme molecule to another. However, this differentiation is often arbitrary, since the same compound (for example, flavine-adenine dinucleotide) can sometimes act like a typical dissociating coenzyme, while at other times it remains firmly bonded to the protein. Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|
| Encyclopedia |
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Free toolbar & extensions |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup |
|---|