Competitive inhibition is a form of enzyme inhibition where binding of the inhibitor to the active site on the enzyme prevents binding of the substrate and vice versa.
Most competitive inhibitors function by binding reversibly to the active site of the enzyme. As a result, many sources state that this is this defining feature of competitive inhibitors. This, however, is a misleading oversimplification, as there are many possible mechanisms by which an enzyme may bind either the inhibitor or the substrate but never both at the same time. For example, allosteric inhibitors may display competitive, non-competitive, or uncompetitive inhibition.
Read more about Competitive Inhibition: Mechanism, Equation, Derivation
Famous quotes containing the word competitive:
“How deep is our desire to do better than our mothers—to bring daughters into adulthood strong and fierce yet loving and gentle, adventurous and competitive but still nurturing and friendly, sweet yet sharp. We know as working women that we can’t quite have it all, but that hasn’t stopped us from wanting it all for them.”
—Anne Roiphe (20th century)