Once it reaches small intestine, it is converted in active trypsin by enterokinase enzyme. Trypsin acts in alkaline medium and it is prevented from taking any damaging action on intestinal lining of lumen due to presence of protective mucus layer on it.

Will trypsin digest itself?

“Without efforts to stabilize it, trypsin will eventually digest itself,” says Tracy Adair-Kirk, Principal Scientist at MilliporeSigma. This is particularly undesirable for applications where autolysis may contaminate and confound experimental results.

Why does trypsin self Digest?

The self-digestion of trypsin proceeds by second-order kinetics. Acetylation stabilizes the enzyme by reducing the self-digestion to a first-order reaction. The addition of calcium ions to trypsin also stabilizes the enzyme, the order of reaction being intermediate, i.e., 1.5.