Skip to Content
Merck
All Photos(1)

Key Documents

539480

Sigma-Aldrich

Proteinase K from Tritirachium album

Synonym(s):

Endopeptidase K

Sign Into View Organizational & Contract Pricing


About This Item

CAS Number:
Enzyme Commission number:
Enzyme Commission number:
MDL number:
UNSPSC Code:
12352202
NACRES:
NA.21

form

lyophilized solid

Quality Level

specific activity

≥30 mAnson units/mg dry wt
≥40 mAnson units/mg protein

mol wt

28.93 kDa

manufacturer/tradename

Calbiochem®

storage condition

OK to freeze

color

white

solubility

50 mM Tris-HCl, 2 mM calcium acetate, pH 8.0: soluble

foreign activity

DNase, none detected (nicking activity with pBR322, incubation for 6 h at 37°C)
RNase, none detected (ribonuclease activity with MS2 RNA detected after incubation for 6 h at 37°C)

shipped in

ambient

storage temp.

2-8°C

Looking for similar products? Visit Product Comparison Guide

General description

Serine protease that exhibits strong proteolytic activity on a wide variety of denatured and native proteins of high molecular weight. Because of its rapid proteolytic inactivation of endogenous nucleases, it can be used for isolation of mRNA and high molecular weight DNA. Preferentially cleaves bonds next to the carbonyl group of N-substituted hydrophobic, aliphatic, and aromatic amino acids. Inhibited by DFP, Hg2+, and PMSF. Not inactivated by metal chelators, sulfhydryl reagents, TLCK, or TPCK.

Application

Useful for the proteolytic inactivation of nucleases during the isolation of DNA and RNA.
Removes endotoxins that bind to cationic proteins such as lysozyme and ribonuclease A.
Reported useful for the isolation of hepatic, yeast, and mung bean mitochondria
Determination of enzyme localization on membranes
Treatment of paraffin embedded tissue sections to expose antigen binding sites for antibody labeling.
Digestion of proteins from brain tissue samples for prions in Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE) research.

Biochem/physiol Actions

Proteinase K is a stable and highly reactive serine protease. Evidence from crystal and molecular structure studies indicates the enzyme belongs to the subtilisin family with an active-site catalytic triad (Asp39-His69-Ser224). It is stable in a broad range of environments: pH, buffer salts, detergents (SDS), and temperature. In the presence of 0.1-0.5% SDS, proteinase K retains activity and will digest a variety of proteins and nucleases in DNA preparations without compromising the integrity of the isolated DNA.

Warning

Toxicity: Irritant (B)

Unit Definition

One mAnson unit is defined as the amount of enzyme that will liberate 1.0 µmol of Folin-positive amino acids (calculated as tyrosine) per min at 37°C, pH 7.5.

Physical form

Lyophilized from calcium acetate

Reconstitution

Following reconstitution, store in the refrigerator (4°C). Stock solutions prepared in 50 mM Tris-HCl, 2 mM calcium acetate, pH 8.0 are stable for up to 1 year at 4°C.

Other Notes

Watazu, Y., et al. 1993. J. Lab. Clin. Anal. 7, 81.
Lebherz, H.G., et al. 1986. Biochem. J.233, 51.
Ebeling, W., et al. 1974. Eur. J. Biochem.47, 91.

Legal Information

CALBIOCHEM is a registered trademark of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany

Pictograms

Health hazardExclamation mark

Signal Word

Danger

Hazard Statements

Hazard Classifications

Eye Irrit. 2 - Resp. Sens. 1 - Skin Irrit. 2 - STOT SE 3

Target Organs

Respiratory system

Storage Class Code

11 - Combustible Solids

WGK

WGK 1

Flash Point(F)

Not applicable

Flash Point(C)

Not applicable


Certificates of Analysis (COA)

Search for Certificates of Analysis (COA) by entering the products Lot/Batch Number. Lot and Batch Numbers can be found on a product’s label following the words ‘Lot’ or ‘Batch’.

Already Own This Product?

Find documentation for the products that you have recently purchased in the Document Library.

Visit the Document Library

Kongyang Zhu et al.
iScience, 25(12), 105636-105636 (2022-12-31)
A high point of Tibetan Plateau (TP) civilization, the expansive Tubo Empire (618-842 AD) wielded great influence across ancient western China. However, whether the Tubo expansion was cultural or demic remains unclear due to sparse ancient DNA sampling. Here, we
Markus Siegert et al.
Drug testing and analysis, 10(2), 243-253 (2017-09-08)
The vesicant sulfur mustard (SM) is a banned chemical warfare agent. Although, SM has been used in combat since WWI, there is no causal therapy currently available. Accordingly, development and investigation of antidotes and scavengers targeting SM are of high
Yujie Dong et al.
International journal of molecular sciences, 23(23) (2022-12-12)
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of inherited retinal dystrophies that typically results in photoreceptor cell death and vision loss. Here, we explored the effect of early growth response-1 (EGR1) expression on photoreceptor cell death in Pde6brd1 (rd1) mice and
Richard P Tucker et al.
Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.), 2047, 421-437 (2019-09-26)
One of the first steps in studies of gene function is the spatiotemporal analysis of patterns of gene expression. Indirect immunohistochemistry is a method that allows the detection of a protein of interest by incubating a histological section with an
Markus Siegert et al.
Drug testing and analysis, 11(5), 659-668 (2018-11-24)
Exposure to the vesicant sulfur mustard (SM) may lead to erythema and blistering. Toxicity of SM is hypothesized due to the alkylation of DNA bases and nucleophilic amino acid side chains in proteins (adducts) by forming the hydroxyethylthioethyl (HETE) moiety.

Articles

Proteinase K aids in molecular biology applications by digesting structural proteins, removing nucleases, and isolating intact genomic DNA.

Pro K aids in disrupting cell membranes for DNA release, crucial for downstream molecular biology techniques.

Guidelines on use of proteinase K, an enzyme commonly used to degrade proteins, and protect DNA and RNA from degradation in samples.

Balancing Proteinase K cost with quality and technical support ensures optimal enzyme selection for diverse applications.

See All

Our team of scientists has experience in all areas of research including Life Science, Material Science, Chemical Synthesis, Chromatography, Analytical and many others.

Contact Technical Service