Studies in the Action of Trypsin. I. on the Hydrolysis of Casein by Trypsin

The mode of operation of this reaction is entirely beyond the category of our present knowledge. The researches of Emil Fischer’ on the hydrolysis of the synthetic polypeptides will, it is hoped, throw some light on this question, for many of these synthetic products are known to be hydrolyzed by trypsin. It has been found that this reaction proceeds at all temperatures in neutral watery solutions free from a ferment or any other catalyser except, possibly, the ions of the water itself. Taylor* working with sterile solutions of casein, protamine sulphate, and nucleoprotein in pure water and Robertson3 working with casein have demonstrated directly that these bodies are hydrolyzed at