Active sites

Precisely shaped pockets on the surfaces of enzymes and other catalysts where substrates bind and chemical transformation occurs. On enzymes, the active site’s geometry determines specificity — only fitting molecules are processed — which explains why heat denaturation destroys activity and how inhibitors block reactions by occupying or distorting the site. Food technologists work with this concept constantly: selecting enzymes for cheese ripening, brewing or starch conversion means matching active-site chemistry to the job, and designing blanching or pasteurisation regimes means delivering conditions that irreversibly wreck the active sites of unwanted enzymes.