What physicians need to know about restrictive covenants. Roy W. BreitenbachThe mention of restrictive covenants provokes an almost visceral reaction among most physicians. But keep in mind these covenants are, for the most part, enforceable.
An enzyme inhibitor is a molecule that binds to an enzyme and decreases its activity. Since blocking an enzyme's activity can kill a pathogen or correct a metabolic imbalance, many drugs are enzyme inhibitors. medicinal enzyme inhibitor is often judged by its specificity (its lack of binding to other proteins) and its potency (its dissociation constant, which indicates the concentration needed to inhibit the enzyme). A high specificity and potency ensure that a drug will have few side effects and thus low toxicity.
A number of substances may cause a reduction in the rate of an enzyme catalysed reaction. Some of these (e.g. urea) are non-specific protein denaturants. Others, which generally act in a fairly specific manner, are known as inhibitors. Loss of activity may be either reversible, where activity may be restored by the removal of the inhibitor, or irreversible, where the loss of activity is time dependent and cannot be recovered during the timescale of interest.