Enzymes that do not work in organic solvents: Too polar substrates give too tight enzyme‐product complexes

Abstract

The possible effect of hydration of both the enzyme active site and the substrate or product on enzyme complex formation has been evaluated.Replacement of water by organic solvents in the case of highly polar substrates, e.g. carbohydrates, phosphates, sulfates, leads to such an enhancement of enzyme‐substrate and/or enzyme‐product complex stability that there is no measurable conversion. The very low rate of dissociation of the enzyme‐product complex simply prevents these polar‐substrate converting enzymes to be catalytically effective in apolar media. Proper less‐polar substrates, on the other hand, might be more promising.