Master Competitive Inhibition with Picmonic for Pre-Health

Competitive inhibition is a type of inhibition which reduces the effectiveness of enzymes at catalyzing reactions. Most types of competitive inhibition are reversible, meaning that the enzyme is not permanently altered in any way. In this process, the substrate competes with the inhibitor to bind to the active site. Thus, by increasing the amount of substrate, the inhibiting complex can be overcome. Inhibition does not affect Vmax, because adding more substrate will allow the reaction to occur at the non-inhibited maximum rate (this is where the substrate out-competes the inhibitor). However, inhibition does increase Km, the substrate concentration at one-half of Vmax, because it takes more substrate to reach Vmax or one-half Vmax.