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cofactor
[ koh-fak-ter ]
noun
- Biochemistry. any of various organic or inorganic substances necessary to the function of an enzyme.
- Mathematics.
- a prefactor or postfactor.
- the product of the minor of a given element of a matrix times −1 raised to the power of the sum of the indices of the row and column crossed out in forming the minor.
cofactor
/ ˈkəʊˌfæktə /
noun
- maths a number associated with an element in a square matrix, equal to the determinant of the matrix formed by removing the row and column in which the element appears from the given determinant See minor
- biochem a nonprotein substance that forms a complex with certain enzymes and is essential for their activity. It may be a metal ion or a coenzyme
cofactor
/ kō′făk′tər /
- A substance, such as a metallic ion or a coenzyme, that must be associated with an enzyme for the enzyme to function. Cofactors work by changing the shape of an enzyme or by actually participating in the enzymatic reaction.
Compare Meanings
How does cofactor compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
Researchers at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, have identified how such a cofactor, the so-called hydrogen cluster, is assembled.
Or it could be a cofactor, but on its own it wouldn’t be causal.
You may also want to consider selenium, a trace mineral that’s a cofactor in a free radical-quenching enzyme called glutathione peroxidase.
Usually, it becomes linked to the molecule coenzyme A to form methylmalonyl-CoA, and is converted to succinyl-CoA in a reaction that involves vitamin B12 as a cofactor.
FNR uses the electrons it receives from ferredoxin to chemically reduce a small molecule known as NADP+ — a cofactor that acts as an electron shuttle.
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