Proteases

Proteases (or Peptidases) are a pivotal family of enzymes catalyzing the proteolysis reaction, in which the peptide bonds on a target protein is hydrolyzed and the protein is broken down into smaller peptides or amino acids. Comprising approximately 2% of all human genes, proteases make up the largest family of enzymes that participate in a host of physiological and developmental processes. While some proteases, such as those involved with digestion and protein recycling in cells, are relatively nonselective, most proteases have evolved to recognize a specific set of peptide sequences. As such, proteases have not only become attractive targets for drug development but also proven to be indispensable tools for industrial applications and biomedical research especially proteomics. There is an ever-growing dependency on biological tools such as proteases to remove affinity tags and purify the tagged proteins of interest. Tobacco Etch Virus (TEV) proteases and thrombin are prime examples of such highly active endoproteases, which can be used as a proteolytic tool to cleave fusion proteins.

SignalChem offers a variety of highly specific and tag-free recombinant proteases such as carboxypeptidase B, Tobacco Etch Virus Protease, Thrombin and Trypsin with critical relevance in life science research and industrial processes. Our protease products are available in microgram to bulk quantities.