Application

Papain from papaya latex has been used:to digest carotid artery smooth muscle cellsin dissecting solutionsto produce Fab fragments of antibodiesfor cell dissociation since it has been shown to be more effective and less damaging with certain tissuesin the enzyme cocktail for dissociating human fetal retinal tissueto digest chondrocytes/scaffold cultures for total DNA quantification for cell proliferationas a supplement in neurobasal medium to produce retinal cell suspensions

Used to produce Fab fragments of antibodies. Also used for cell dissociation since it has been shown to be more effective and less damaging with certain tissues.

Biochem/physiol Actions

Papain with wide specificity, cleaves peptide bonds of basic amino acids, leucine or glycine. It also hydrolyzes esters and amides. Papain is considered to digest protein substrates more broadly than the pancreatic proteases. Papain is commonly used in cell isolation procedures as it is highly efficient and less harmful than other proteases on certain tissues. The use of papain is known to yield more viable smooth muscle cells, retaining the cell′s sensitivity to stimulants. Papain papaya latex has antifungal activity against C. albicans and is a cysteine protease.The pH optimum is 6.0-7.0Papain hydrolyzes esters and amides

A cysteine protease that cleaves peptide bonds of basic amino acids, leucine, or glycine.pH optimum 6.0-7.0Also hydrolyzes esters and amides.

General description

Papain is a cysteine protease, found in Carica papaya. It is composed of a single polypeptide chain containing three disulfide bridges and a sulfhydryl group.

Other Notes

View more information on papain at www.sigma-aldrich.com/enzymeexplorer.

Packaging

Package size based on protein content

1, 5 g in glass bottle

25 mg in poly bottle

50, 100, 500 mg in glass bottle

Physical form

Lyophilized powder containing sodium acetate

Preparation Note

2× Crystallized

Unit Definition

One unit will hydrolyze 1.0 micromole of N-alpha-benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester (BAEE) per minute at pH 6.2 at 25 deg C.