An enzyme lowers the activation energy through several different ways.
- An enzyme may position the substrates in a way that alters their bond configuration to resemble their form in the transition state. This lowers the amount of energy required to complete the transition.
- The enzyme may bring substrates together and position them in the correct orientation to react, thus reducing the reaction entropy.
- The enzyme may form new bonds in the enzyme-substrate complex, providing the reaction with a completely different chemical pathway that requires lower activation energy.
- The enzyme may lower the energy of the transition state by creating a charge distribution that is opposite to that of the transition state. This helps lower the activation energy.