Cognitive Vs Non Competitive Inhibitors

As the name states, the competitive inhibitors compete with the substrate enabling them to bind to the active site; this then results in the active site being occupied so the substrate can no longer bind to it. However, in this process, no product is being made and the reaction is not catalysed. Increasing the substrate concentration would overcome competitive inhibition. On the other hand, the other type of inhibitor is known as the non-competitive inhibitor. Unlike the competitive inhibitor, this does not compete for the active site, instead it binds the allosteric site. This means that both the inhibitor and the substrate can bind to the enzyme at different locations; not the active site. When the inhibitor attaches itself to the enzyme,