Many modern medicines are designed as competitive inhibitors. To work this way, the drug molecule must
- A. bind permanently to the enzyme by covalent bonds
- B. denature the whole protein
- C. mimic the shape of the enzyme's natural substrate
- D. block the synthesis of the enzyme
Explanation
A competitive inhibitor succeeds only if it fits the active site, so medicinal chemists build molecules shaped like the substrate. Permanent covalent binding would make the drug an irreversible inhibitor instead, a different mechanism.
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