Team:TUDelft/Color modeling

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Effects of the temperature on enzymes

Enzymes are catalysts that breakdown or synthesize more complex chemical compounds. They allow chemical reactions to occur fast enough to support life. Enzymes speed up the rate of chemical reactions because they lower the energy of activation, the energy that must be supplied in order for molecules to react with one another. Anything that an enzyme normally combines with is called a substrate. Each enzyme has an optimum temperature at which it works best. A higher temperature generally results in an increase in enzyme activity. As the temperature increases, molecular motion increases resulting in more molecular collisions. If, however, the temperature rises above a certain point, the heat will denature the enzyme, causing it to lose its three-dimensional functional shape by denaturing its hydrogen bonds. Cold temperature, on the other hand, slows down enzyme activity by decreasing molecular motion. In the monitored model the effect of temperature is important for the last three enzymes.Moreover the last three enzymes are produced on a specific temperatures to produce the last three products which are Lycopene, B-Carotene and Zeaxanthin. These three products are presenting red, orange and yellow color in the environment.