Why do noncompetitive inhibitors occur?
Christopher Harper
Updated on May 25, 2026
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Similarly one may ask, what does a noncompetitive inhibitor do?
Noncompetitive inhibitor can bind to an enzyme with or without a substrate at different places at the same time. It changes the conformation of an enzyme as well as its active site, which makes the substrate unable to bind to the enzyme effectively so that the efficiency decreases.
Secondly, are noncompetitive inhibitors reversible? Non competitive inhibitors are usually reversible, but are not influenced by concentrations of the substrate as is the case for a reversible competive inhibitor. See the graphic on the left. Irreversible Inhibitors form strong covalent bonds with an enzyme.
Simply so, why do noncompetitive inhibitors not change?
In non-competitive inhibition, the Km does not change. This is because Km is a measure of the affinity of the enzyme for its substrate and this can only be measured by active enzyme. The fixed amount of inactive enzyme in non-competitive inhibition does not affect the Km and the Km, therefore is unchanged.
Is cyanide a noncompetitive inhibitor?
An example of non-competitive inhibition could be cyanide (or potassium cyanide – KCN) which combines dehydrogenase with the cytochrome enzymes responsible for the transfer of hydrogen atoms during cellular respiration. The non-competitive inhibitor attaches to the enzyme but not at the active site.
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