Biochemistry

Description: Aspirin was one of the first drugs to ever be produced. In the late 1890s Aspirin was discovered by Felix Hoffman at Bayer in Germany. It wasn’t till much later that we discovered the mechanism by which Aspirin works. Today, there is a huge wealth of information available about how exactly Aspirin inhibitors Cyclo Monooxygenase (COX). For this worksheet, your job is to investigate how Aspirin works on both a pathway level and a mechanistic level.

Part 1:

Explain how Aspirin works on both a pathway level and a mechanistic level.
Explain the pathway (structures, metabolite names, enzymes, cofactors) that Aspirin inhibits.
Draw out the mechanism by which Aspirin covalently inhibits COX.

Part 2: Instructions: Aspirin inhibits prostaglandins from being formed.

Explain what prostaglandins do in respect to inflammation and how inhibiting their formation would reduce inflammation.