BRAINCAKECarbonic Anhydrase
Carbonic anhydrase is an enzyme found in high concentration in the cytoplasm of red blood cells. It catalyses the reversible reaction between carbon dioxide and water to form carbonic acid:
CO2 + H2O ⇌ H2CO3
This reaction happens only slowly in the plasma, which contains little carbonic anhydrase. In red blood cells the enzyme speeds it up enormously, so carbon dioxide from respiring tissues is converted rapidly. The carbonic acid then dissociates into hydrogen ions and hydrogencarbonate ions:
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Key terms in this lesson
- chloride shift
- The movement of chloride ions into red blood cells to balance the charge lost when hydrogencarbonate ions diffuse out.
More in Transport in Animals
- Haemoglobin
- Oxygen Loading and Unloading
- The Oxygen Dissociation Curve
- Partial Pressure of Oxygen
- The Bohr Effect
- Fetal Haemoglobin
- Transport of Carbon Dioxide
- Haemoglobinic Acid
All 32 lessons in Transport in Animals · All OCR AS-level Biology topics