The action of trypsin on polylysine

Abstract

Chromatographic methods were used both to identify the products formed and to follow their rate of formation. The rate of peptide-bond splitting was estimated by measuring the amt. of alkali required to maintain the pH constant during the enzymic hydrolysis. The chief products from polylysine are dilysine and trilysine. The end bonds (next to a carboxyl or amino group) are not split, but those near the end are split preferentially so that the main reaction initially is a stepwise formation of the lower peptides. Pentalysine breaks down to dilysine and trilysine at a rate comparable with the rate of breakdown of the polymers. Tetralysine reacts more slowly, giving mostly dilysine; trilysine is much less reactive and dilysine is completely inert.