Applications
Trypsin is available in high quantity in pancreases, and can be purified rather easily. Hence it has been used widely in various biotechnological processes.
In a tissue culture lab, trypsins are used to re-suspend cells adherent to the cell culture dish wall during the process of harvesting cells. Some cell types have a tendency to "stick" - or adhere - to the sides and bottom of a dish when cultivated in vitro. Trypsin is used to cleave proteins bonding the cultured cells to the dish, so that the cells can be suspended in fresh solution and transferred to fresh dishes.
Trypsin can also be used to dissociate dissected cells (for example, prior to cell fixing and sorting).
Trypsins can be used to break down casein in breast milk. If trypsin is added to a solution of milk powder, the breakdown of casein will cause the milk to become translucent. The rate of reaction can be measured by using the amount of time it takes for the milk to turn translucent.
Trypsin is commonly used in biological research during proteomics experiments to digest proteins into peptides for mass spectrometry analysis, e.g. in-gel digestion. Trypsin is particularly suited for this, since it has a very well defined specificity, as it hydrolyzes only the peptide bonds in which the carbonyl group is contributed either by an Arg or Lys residue.
Trypsin can also be used to dissolve blood clots in its microbial form and treat inflammation in its pancreatic form.
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