Collagenase Type I

Collagenase is a protease consisting of a single polypeptide chain approximately 1,000 amino acid residues in length. Collagenase is capable of digesting native collagen fibrils commonly found in connective tissues and therefore is frequently used for tissue dissociation. Collagenase Type I contains the activity of several proteases, including collagenase, caseinase, clostripain, and trypsin. Collagenase Type I has been used for the digestion of human tissues such as intestine (Barthel et al.), mammary glands (Huss & Kratz), and prostate (Le et al.), as well as specific cell types such as endothelial cells (Ganguly et al.) and dorsal root ganglion cells (Dib-Hajj et al.).