Catalase is an enzyme that catalyses the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide to oxygen and water.Hydrogen peroxide is a by-product of some metabolic reactions and will damage cells if allowed to accumulate.Enzymes are biological catalysts that catalyse specific reactions due to their specific 3D structure.Catalase is a quaternary protein containing four haem groups.The Fe3+ ions in the haem prosthetic group allow the enzyme to interact with hydrogen peroxide.
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Specification: OCR Biology A (H020), AS-level, 2.1.2 Biological molecules. Topic: Biological Molecules.
Key terms in this lesson
- prosthetic group
- A non-protein group that is permanently and tightly bound to a protein and is needed for it to function, such as the haem group in haemoglobin.
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