A serine proteinase used to inactivate RNAse and DNAse in RNA and DNA isolation protocols. Useful in the study of membrane and protein structure.
Proteinase K is a highly active protease (MW 28,500 Da) isolated from the fungus Tritirachium album. The enzyme exhibits broad specificity on native and denatured proteins and is widely used in the purification of native RNA and DNA. The solution is tested for the absence of RNases and DNases, and is suitable for isolating PCR and RT-PCR templates.
The activity of Proteinase K is increased in the presence of denaturants such as SDS (1%) and at higher temperature (50-60°C). The recommended working concentration is 50-100µg/ml for protein removal and DNAse and RNAse enzyme inactivations and up to 2mg/ml for tissue sample treatment.