Papain for Effective Tissue Dissociation

Papain, a proteolytic enzyme derived from the papaya fruit (Carica papaya latex), provides a gentle and efficient method for dissociating tissues into single cells, while preserving cell integrity and viability for downstream applications.

Advantages of Papain in Tissue Dissociation:

1. Broad Specificity and Versatility
   Papain exhibits broad substrate specificity, cleaving various peptide bonds in proteins found within the extracellular matrix and cell-cell adhesions. This versatility makes it suitable for dissociating tissues from a wide variety of species, including common models like rat, mouse, and human, as well as less common species such as shellfish, salamander, turtle, and insect.

2. Gentle Proteolysis
   Papain breaks down proteins in a mild and controlled manner, minimizing damage to cell membranes. This is particularly beneficial for isolating delicate cells, such as cortical neurons, retinal cells, and photoreceptors, or endocrine cells, which require gentle handling to maintain functionality.

3. High Cell Viability
   Papain’s gentle action ensures high cell viability, preserving isolated cells for downstream applications such as cell culture, flow cytometry, and molecular analyses.

4. High Efficiency
   Papain efficiently degrades extracellular matrix proteins, enabling the dissociation of tissues into single cells under near-physiological conditions. It is particularly effective for tissues that are challenging to dissociate or are available in limited quantities.

5. Consistency and Reproducibility
   Papain is available in standardized formulations (lyophilized or suspension), ensuring batch-to-batch consistency and reproducibility. Ready-to-use kits, optimized for isolating viable single cells from fetal and neonatal central nervous system tissues, further streamline the process based on well-established protocols.

Available Papain Products

• Lyophilized and Suspension: available in 25 mg, 100 mg and 1 g.
  • Papain Suspension, twice crystallized, 0,22 µm filtered
  • Papain Lyophilized Powder, twice crystallized
• Papain Dissociation System (PDS and PDS2 Kits):
  The PDS and PDS2 Kits ensure consistent, reliable results, saving time and effort in tissue dissociation. With its user-friendly protocols and high-quality components, these kits offer ready-to-use solutions for neural tissue dissociation. They are based on the method developed by Huettner and Baughman (J Neurosci. 1986;6(10):3044-3060), optimized to isolate high yields of viable, morphologically intact cortical neurons from postnatal rats. This technique has also been adapted for the dissociation of other brain regions, including the hippocampus, as well as various fetal and postnatal brain tissues.

Optimized Use and Combinations

While Papain is highly effective on its own, it can also be used in combination with other enzymes like Collagenase, Trypsin or Dispase, depending on experimental needs.

The Tissue Dissociation Guide is a comprehensive resource that details protocols and techniques for enzymatically dissociating tissues into single cells.