Definition
noun, plural: active sites
The specific region of an enzyme where a substrate binds and catalysis takes place or where chemical reaction occurs
Supplement
The active site refers to the specific region of an enzyme where a substrate binds and catalysis takes place or where chemical reaction occurs.
It is a structural element of protein that determines whether the protein is functional when undergoing a reaction from an enzyme. This structural element will be accordingly shaped to the structure of the enzyme at work on it.
The active site is made up of residues that can form bonds with the substrate, particularly at the binding site. Often, an enzyme would have only one active site that will fit with only one specific substrate. At the binding site, the residues will form temporary bonds, e.g. hydrogen bonds, van der Waals, or hydrophobic interactions, with the substrate to form a complex. When the residues and the substrate are bound together the substrate will be oriented in the active site and catalysis will take place.1
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1 Active site. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active-site.
