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enzymes are typically which type of biomolecule

Enzymes are typically proteins, a class of biomolecules made of long chains of amino acids that fold into specific 3D shapes to catalyze reactions. A small minority of enzymes are made of RNA instead of protein; these catalytic RNA molecules are called ribozymes.

Quick Scoop: What kind of biomolecule is an enzyme?

  • Most enzymes in cells are protein biomolecules that speed up chemical reactions by lowering activation energy.
  • These protein enzymes are built from amino acids and their specific sequence and folding create an active site that binds substrates.
  • A special exception is ribozymes, which are enzymes made of RNA rather than protein, but these are far fewer than protein enzymes.

In short, when you see a question like “enzymes are typically which type of biomolecule,” the expected answer is: proteins (with a noteworthy side note that some are RNA).

TL;DR: Enzymes are typically protein biomolecules, with rare RNA-based enzymes called ribozymes as exceptions.

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