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Enzyme superoxide dismutase and electrostatic potential

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SOD is a diffusion-limited enzyme. What does it mean by "diffusion-limited enzyme"?
Why will enzyme has electrostatic potential? Where are they from?
What's the probable use of the enzyme's electrostatic potential?
Is this enzyme related to metabolic pathway?
If you have suggested reading, please give me the link.

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Solution Summary

The solution provides a description of SOD and its purpose as well as describes electrostatic potential and provides two website resources along with seven other references.

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SOD is an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of the dangerous superoxide into relatively harmless hydrogen peroxide and molecular oxygen. As such, it is a significant component of a healthy antioxidant system in cells exposed to molecular oxygen.

The superoxide anion radical (O2-) spontaneously converts to O2 and H2O2 quite rapidly. However, SOD has the fastest turnover number of any known enzyme. The turnover number is the reaction rate of an enzyme with its substrate (or the number of substrate molecules converted to product in one second). In fact, the rate of SOD is limited only by the rate of diffusion of the substrate O2- and its products, O2 and H2O2. Isn't that wild? That is what is meant by "diffusion-limited enzyme."

As a result, under normal cellular conditions, SOD can significantly reduce the intracellular concentation of the harmful superoxide anion. In particular, SOD can help protect cells from the free radical damage associated with aging, cell death, and ...

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