Studies on Reduced Wool II. The Identification of Terminal N -Acetylalanine in Wool and Extracted Wool Proteins

Abstract

N-Acetylalanine has been isolated and identified in partial acid hydrolysates of wool and extracted wool proteins. Quantitatively it only accounts for a f{'action of the acetyl groups present in these proteins. Isolation of N-acetylated paptides from enzymic digests of extracted wool proteins is complicated by the large amounts of pyroglutamio acid and pyroglutamyl paptides produced either during the hydrolysis or on subsequent passage through a column of Dowex 50 resin. No N -acetylated peptide could be isolated from either a pronase digest of reduced wool or a partial acid hydrolysate of wool.