Protease

The term protease(also called a peptidase, proteinase, or proteolytic enzyme) represents the hydrolysis of protein molecules into peptides and amino acids. However, proteases are a large and complex group of enzymes. The six main classes of protease are serine protease, serine carboxyl protease, cysteine protease, aspartic protease, metalloprotease, and metallocarboxy protease.
Proteases are widely used in detergent industry. Protease is an important industrial enzyme that accounts for more than 60% of the global enzyme market, and most of the proteases are from microbial resources.
Nowadays trends in energy efficiency raise the awareness in society for washing at low temperature. Designing sustainable laundry detergents with high performance at low temperatures requires the development of enzymes with high efficiency at broad temperature range especially at temperatures <20°C.
The success of subtilisins for their application in detergents depends on several factors such as compatibility with the detergent matrix, broad substrate specificity, thermal resistance, activity at temperatures from 20°C to 60°C, as well as high activity in a wide alkaline pH range.
In laundry detergents, protein stains such as grass, blood, egg, and human sweat are removed through proteolysis. In ADD, proteases secure the removal of proteinaceous food films, which are a particular problem with glassware and cutlery.