5. Conclusion

Catalysis is a process by which a chemical or biological entity accelerates a chemical reaction.

In the world of living organisms, two types of biological catalysts are known:

• RNA (catalytic ribonucleic acids or ribozymes), part of the molecular family of nucleic acids ;

• enzymes belonging to the protids are by far the most important biological catalysts.

This article, dedicated to enzymatic catalysis, highlights the chemical progress of three different enzymatic reactions and recalls the properties of this specific type of catalysis. It briefly describes the main enzymatic kinetic mechanisms found in the living world, as well as the notion of isoenzyme.