Protease / Proteolysis
Also known as: protease · proteolysis · peptidase · enzymatic degradation
Enzymes that cut peptide bonds; proteolysis is the enzymatic breakdown that limits most peptides’ half-life.
A protease (or peptidase) is an enzyme that cleaves peptide bonds. Proteolysis — the enzymatic cutting of peptide chains — is how the body digests proteins and regulates peptide signals.
It is also the main reason native peptides have short half-lives: proteases in blood and tissue rapidly break them down. Chemical tricks that resist proteolysis — terminal capping, D-amino acids, cyclisation — are central to peptide design.
RELATED TERMS
Peptide Bond
The covalent amide bond linking amino acids into a peptide chain — the defining structural feature of every peptide.
Hydrolysis
The water-driven breaking of a peptide bond — the main way peptides degrade in solution, and why they are supplied dry.
Half-Life
The time for a compound’s concentration to fall by half — a key determinant of dosing frequency in research.
Enzyme
A protein catalyst that speeds up a specific biochemical reaction — including the enzymes that build and break peptides.
D- and L-Amino Acids
Amino acids come in mirror-image L and D forms; swapping in D-residues can make a peptide far more stable to enzymes.
Educational content, not medical advice. All products supplied for research purposes only — not for human consumption.