Proteases

Proteases (also known as peptidases) are enzymes that function in hydrolyzing the peptide bonds of proteins. They are frequently used in molecular and biochemical laboratory applications, such as in protein expression, proteomics, biochemical assays, and cell culture. Protein digestion for proteomic analysis has established a central step that uses trypsin, but other proteases such as chymotrypsin, Arg-C, Asp-N, Glu-C, and Lys-C have been used. Broad-spectrum proteases such as proteinase K are used in removing contaminating protein from DNA and RNA preparations. Others, such as TEV protease, are used in cleaving affinity tags and polypeptide segments during recombinant protein expression. As with any enzyme, proteases function optimally at defined temperature ranges and favorable chemical environments.